1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior came to Chicago's West side to protest against discriminatory housing practices.

The neighborhood went into an uproar following his assassination, resulting in numerous riots and looting the new Chicago stories documentary called when the West Side burned outlines the destruction.

>> April 1968.

Congo's Westside burst into flames after the news of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior's assassination has been shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee.

>> The one man who brought hope for a better life was dead.

>> do frustration that I do remember one guy stand burned, baby >> Here to talk more about that time are 2 former Westside residents featured in the film, Lee, founder and CEO of National Alliance for the Empowerment of the formerly incarcerated and John Preston, community representative for the West Side Justice Center.

Thank you both for joining us.

We appreciate it.

want to ask you both first.

You know, this happened some time ago, but why do you think it is important to remember this history, Ben?

Ali, let's start with you.

Please.

>> Well, one, you get what the true, what happened before Iowa causes?

You know, we've got some needs is a date is doing a lot good work for in our communities.

Will this happen again if something happened to them, we should learn from that.

What happened back had to have an impact on our community and not result of those measures.

If something like that happen again.

>> Joe question, what do you think?

It's important to remember but I means there's there's there's certain things that we should never forget as the people in America as a whole so as not to repeat the same mistakes over again.

And we do know I need to step out.

>> For for good things that the that their lives are in danger.

>> So and we and so we have to remember And we had a number that we have as a community have to.

Somewhere circle the wagons, know, to protect their leaders from from >> Dr King chose to live in North Lawndale when he moved to Chicago wide that neighborhood.

What was significant about his reasons for coming But when he came that he came here with his poor people's campaign.

>> And at that time, do like birth of the black power movement.

He was part of the civil rights movement.

Just young radicals moving from the black power movement and on the Westside at that time where he stated 62 Hammond, you had the Vice and they had a program called Tenants Rights Action Group.

Why they would challenge as Lord.

That was illegally victim.

People out there houses.

They was shut down construction throughout the city because they would have black contractors.

I don't know his reasons moving that.

What was happening in that area where he So that ended up being sort of a natural of relationship because the vice lords and Dr King into communicating what was relationship like?

>> Well, again, they might want to cause you gotta keep him.

And black ministers would I looked again, even speak at churches during that time because they didn't want hear.

So it was not only just of Iceland, but who had LSD.

Vice Lewis D-San disciples.

They became a city coalition said now construction site throughout the city.

the key benefit from them guys might reduce Israel with him when he went out south to market part, it was a black stone razor decide wasn't much.

What about that?

So that was his following right.

That happened to do what he did to do >> John, at the time of his assassination, you are completing your paper out.

How do you remember the community's response when the news first broke the community's was was?

Well, it was a it was a a combination of shock.

And grief.

>> A bit of will to men as well.

You know that one of the biggest lead is we have known as it is a race of was gone.

So so we you know, so that was it was a big blow, you know, so to speak.

how did you feel how you remember feeling when you were young person when riots broke out?

>> The neighborhood begins to burn.

Well, felt Suns are up surround fitted up, built the great loss that we lost a very, very great leader.

And what direction we go as a people and what what we do so I feel lost because there were a lot of things that Doctor King stood for.

So and so I was I was, you know, said no on one hand and On the other hand and what you know, which one should we You know you continued your paper out the next day.

What stood out to you in the paper the next day?

Well, with With-with stood out, there is just up.

We're in the community.

The you know, the looting, the burning.

And, you know, people just going and just expressing their anger and by way of looting in the community of and course, they a lot of areas that which cordoned off you know, confined just to the black community.

So that's where a lot of the looting and writing was contained.

>> you were a teenager at the time.

What do you remember feeling?

>> At that time even before happened, we would enter without a racial attack on us as young, you graduate at a rate had to go through all white community all high school to just to get there.

So when the looting devices which we young by was put the desert outlet in the community, though, do not right.

So being advised that we was falling, words about leaders, right.

But on the other hand, we taken with these folks assassinated mother of the key.

These white Stolz deserve that.

This is that we have to tell Md a bit at the time that a young nays.

>> How do you think these riots are different or the same from what we saw the summer of 2020?

>> the difference now is You have a lot of foreigners and for a good example of that divide.

The spill dome in Little village.

young black not write in them.

The lead kings over whole awaited.

Yeah, I'll take that.

Someone else can see these with their fathers and grandfathers businesses the black community these what fathers and grandfathers been, these for businesses.

So that was a conflict in with man in the back doing >> John, we've got, you know, just a limited amount of time left.

But what would you say has been the long-lasting impact of the riots on the West side?

>> In a negative way or positive way.

a is basically 2 sides to it.

So.

>> I'm in in negative way.

the Saints haven't fully recovered from those rights prior to that and we had on prior to Dr Paint us as a nation.

There were other rights.

2 in Chicago, 16 street.

Parts Roosevelt Road.

You know, but that impact there to know You know, all of those type of things still exist and the positive thing is that we are still trying to rebuild.

We still we still run into a lot of obstacles and that we building process that we're doing the work remains a lot of folks and rushed to talk about on some of those businesses having never fully recovered.

>> We'll have to leave it there.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.

Lee and John Preston, thank you.

Thank you.

>> And you can watch Chicago stories when the West side