Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement -- Demands of the Chicago Freedom Movement

[See Chicago Freedom Movement, Slumlords, & Open Housing for background.]

Public statements that all listings will be available on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Public statements of a nondiscriminatory mortgage policy so that loans will be available to any qualified borrower without regard to the racial composition of the area.

Publication of headcounts of whites, Negroes and Latin Americans for all city departments and for all firms from which city purchases are made.
Revocation of contracts with firms that do not have a full scale fair employment practice.
Creation of a citizens review board for grievances against police brutality and false arrests or stops and seizures.
Ordinance giving ready access to the names of owners and investors for all slum properties.
A saturation program of increased garbage collection, street cleaning, and building inspection services in the slum properties.

Program to rehabilitate present public housing including such items as locked lobbies, restrooms in recreation areas, increased police protection and child care centers on every third floor.
Program to increase vastly the supply of low-cost housing on a scattered basis for both low and middle income families.

Basic headcounts, including white, Negro and Latin American, by job classification and income level, made public.
Racial steps to upgrade and to integrate all departments, all levels of employment.

Headcounts in unions for apprentices, journeymen and union staff and officials by job classification. A crash program to remedy any inequities discovered by the headcount.
Indenture of at least 400 Negro and Latin American apprentices in the craft unions.

Prepare legislative proposals for a $2.00 state minimum wage [equal to $14.61 in 2014] law and for credit reform, including the abolition of garnishment and wage assignment.

Encouragement of grievance procedures for the welfare recipients so that recipients know that they can be members of and represented by a welfare union or a community organization.
Institution of a declaration of income system to replace the degrading investigation and means test for welfare eligibility.

Executive enforcement of Title I of the 1964 Civil Rights Act regarding the complaint against the Chicago Board of Education.
An executive order for Federal supervision of the nondiscriminatory granting of loans by banks and savings institutions that are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Passage of the 1966 Civil Rights Act without any deletions or crippling amendments.
Direct funding of Chicago community organizations by the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Financial support of the Freedom Movement.
Selective buying campaigns against businesses that boycott the products of Negro-owned companies.
Participation in the Freedom Movement target campaigns for this summer, including volunteer services and membership in one of the Freedom Movement Organizations.