WOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, runs most weeks in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. To make submissions, email [email protected] or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).
Next Saturday, July 24, and July 25: Public waterfowl blind draws, most northern Illinois sites are next Saturday, July 24, Illinois River/Downstate sites on July 25
U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY
Monday, July 19: Boat America, Skokie, Dan O’Connell, [email protected]
Next Saturday, July 24: Boat America, Waukegan, Curt Schumacher, [email protected]
ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS
Aug. 1: Squirrel hunting opens
Aug. 1: Applications begin for free upland game permits
DALE’S MAILBAG
A rabbit chewing through grass and thinking it was hiding.Dale Bowman
Readers had many thoughts on rabbits. Donald Ayres emailed, “Best choice: get a kingsnake, bullsnake, or rat snake. Short-term solution, but we can always use more of the scaly guys, and they’ll give the rodents something to think about.” . . . Edward Marshall reported an explosion of rabbits in Wilmette/Northbrook.”Bigger question? Where are the coyotes?,” he wondered. “Two years ago and last year they were common here in all neighborhoods. This year I haven’t seen even one.” . . . Dean Campione emailed, “There is only one thing that works- Capsaicin. One Million Scoville Unit Capsaicin is marketed to growers in fact; it is non toxic, completely safe around humans and pets, can be used on anything considered non-edible. One tiny taste and they will never touch it again, guaranteed.” You can also make a similar home brew. . . . Edna Heatherington recalled a garden columnist “recommending purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) as a plant that rabbits in her yard loved to eat but didn’t eat to the ground. She said she planted it in a part of her garden and it attracted them away from her vegetables and other plants. “
BIG NUMBER
2: Species of rabbits in Illinois: Eastern cottontail and the swamp rabbit.
LAST WORD
“Solitary animals, black bears roam large territories, though they do not protect them from other bears. Males might wander a 15- to 80-square-mile home range.”
National Geographic on black bears, which have been reported roaming this spring and summer in both southern Illinois and Indiana, click here for more
On one hand, the end of defenseman Duncan Keith’s long tenure with the Blackhawks — via trade to the Oilers this week — was the most fulfilling of the many departures the Hawks have experienced recently.
He and the Hawks moved on from each other satisfied and on good terms. Keith wanted to be closer to his 8-year-old son in British Columbia; the Hawks wanted to free up salary-cap space and accelerate their youth movement on defense.
None of the other major departures in the last year or so have been so mutually voluntary, much less so mutually desired.
Goalie Corey Crawford was upset the Hawks wouldn’t re-sign him, then backed out of a new contract with the Devils days into training camp to retire. Defenseman Brent Seabrook and forward Andrew Shaw were forced into retirement by injuries after valiant comeback attempts failed. President John McDonough abruptly was fired in April 2020. At least Keith left Chicago amicably.
On the other hand, the end of Keith’s tenure with the Hawks arrived, happened and passed strangely quietly. Sure, the team published an emotional tribute video, Keith made a long Instagram post and fans mourned on all platforms, but the whole thing didn’t feel fittingly earth-shaking for a player of his stature.
Perhaps the nostalgia of the fan base already had been exhausted by the retirements of Crawford, Seabrook and Shaw, the seasonlong absence of captain Jonathan Toews and the expectations of an imminent breakdown similar to the one of the Cubs’ core.
Perhaps the two pending sexual-assault lawsuits have formed a dark cloud over the Hawks’ offseason and memories of the 2010 Stanley Cup.
Perhaps the pandemic — the very thing that separated Keith from his son and ultimately pushed him to request a trade — also separated the memories of the player Keith once was and the team the Hawks once were from how both are viewed now.
Keith’s last action in a Hawks sweater turned out to be May 6 in Carolina, where a linesman’s knee crushed his face, causing a concussion and a goal against. He then missed the last two games of the season, meaning not a single Hawks fan watched him play live at the United Center this past season.
His last goal with the Hawks, April 27 against the Lightning, cut a 6-2 deficit to 6-3. He barely reacted when the puck went in.
His last interview with the Hawks, after a 4-1 loss April 15 in Detroit, mattered just as little.
”The goals they scored we didn’t make them work as hard [for] as we had to for ours,” he grumbled over Zoom that night.
Three months later, no one remembers any of those goals.
All those things seem too trivial to count as lasts at all, much less for someone like Keith.
His individual decline during the last few seasons certainly mirrored the Hawks’ overall decline, even if his pride prevented him from accepting or acknowledging it. There’s a reason the Hawks were thrilled to receive a young, third-pairing defenseman (Caleb Jones) and third-round draft pick for him Monday.
But the sterile, somber irrelevance of this past season — which wasn’t his fault whatsoever — nonetheless wrote an unrepresentative final chapter for Keith’s time in Chicago.
Keith led all three Blackhawks Stanley Cup teams in ice time.Sun-Times file photo
In truth, Keith is the best defenseman in Hawks history. Once the trade analysis ceases, the two years left on his contract expire, his No. 2 is retired to the rafters and the Hawks’ 2010s dominance is considered in historical context, that will be hard to dispute.
Keith’s hardware alone makes a convincing case. He has three Stanley Cup rings, two Norris Trophies, one Conn Smythe Trophy, four All-Star Game selections and two Olympic gold medals. Those are some rarefied accomplishments.
It’s difficult to assess a defenseman’s impact accurately through counting stats, but Keith fares well in that regard, too. He finished his time with the Hawks with 105 goals, 520 assists, 1,628 blocked shots and 2,447 shots on goal in 1,192 career games — in the regular season alone.
He’s the Hawks’ all-time leader in games played by a defenseman. He ranks second to Doug Wilson, who played in a much higher-scoring era, in points by a Hawks defenseman.
Blackhawks defensemen: All-time leaders
Games played leaders
Points leaders
Games played leaders
Points leaders
1. Duncan Keith — 1,192 GP
1. Doug Wilson — 779 pts.
2. Brent Seabrook — 1,114 GP
2. Duncan Keith — 625 pts.
3. Bob Murray — 1,008 GP
3. Bob Murray — 514 pts.
4. Doug Wilson — 938 GP
4. Chris Chelios — 487 pts.
5. Pierre Pilote — 821 GP
5. Pierre Pilote — 477 pts.
He also led the Hawks in time on ice for 15 consecutive seasons and nine consecutive playoff runs, an almost-unfathomable streak in the youth-oriented league of today.
In fact, although the NHL has kept time-on-ice data only since 1997, Keith ranks fourth all-time in regular-season minutes played (29,732) and third in postseason minutes played (3,781). He has averaged 24 minutes, 57 seconds per regular-season game and 28 minutes per playoff game and missed only 50 total games to injury.
NHL time-on-ice leaders (since 1997)
Regular season
Postseason
Regular season
Postseason
1. Zdeno Chara — 37,940 min.
1. Zdeno Chara — 5,082 min.
2. Ryan Suter — 29,993 min.
2. Ryan McDonagh — 4,001 min.
3. Jay Bouwmeester — 29,913 min.
3. Duncan Keith — 3,781 min.
4. Duncan Keith — 29,732 min.
4. Kris Letang — 3,428 min.
5. Drew Doughty — 25,607 min.
5. Victor Hedman — 3,308 min.
And Keith’s immeasurable impact as a person, teammate and leader cements his claim.
He entered the NHL as a rookie in 2005-06 and immediately initiated and led the Hawks’ on-ice transformation. Even when Toews became the captain and wing Patrick Kane the greatest star, Keith’s steadiness kept the Hawks’ dynasty moving.
His scraggly, weathered, occasionally toothless appearance became iconic, in part because of how perfectly it exemplified how he played. He never let the success go to his head, not for fear of arrogance — he possessed just the right amount of that — but because refuting others’ doubt fueled him.
”I’ve been an underdog my whole career, my whole life,” he said in a rare introspective interview last season. ”You can take any type of mentality, even if you’re expected to win. I never felt we were expected to win series, even if we had two Stanley Cups under our belt. It is what it is. You try to do your job. [It] doesn’t matter what people say [or] think. Just perform in the moment.”
Even in recent years, when he was asked to devote just as much of himself to leading and mentoring the Hawks’ next generation as to his own career, Keith played a huge part in the development of Adam Boqvist, Ian Mitchell and others.
This summer was probably the right time for Keith’s departure. The Hawks’ defense needs to enter a new era, one led by Connor Murphy, Boqvist, Mitchell and possibly Seth Jones or Dougie Hamilton. Meanwhile, the jury remains out on how much the just-turned 38-year-old has left to give the Oilers.
But Keith’s 16-year run in Chicago, even as it fades, deserves nothing less than the highest accolades.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – AUGUST 21: A mannequin highlights a face mask and hat advertising the NHL’s newest franchise during the grand opening of Seattle Kraken Team Store on August 21, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jim Bennett/Getty Images)
The Chicago Blackhawks, along with the rest of the National Hockey League, are preparing to submit their protected list to the Seattle Kraken ahead of the 2021 Expansion Draft. Each team can submit a list of either seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie, or eight skaters and a goalie. It is an interesting conversation for the Blackhawks because some hard decisions are needed.
It is impossible to predict exactly who they are going to go with but we are going to give it a try. It is fair to assume that they are going to go the route of seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie. They don’t have a good enough defense to sacrifice extra forwards for them. Players that are on entry-level contracts are exempt from this draft so you won’t see anyone like Kirby Dach protected or exposed.
F – Jonathan Toews
F – Patrick Kane
F – Alex DeBrincat
F – Dominik Kubalik
F – Dylan Strome
F – Henrik Borgstrom
F – Pius Suter
D – Connor Murphy
D – Caleb Jones
D – Riley Stillman
G – Kevin Lankinen
You might be surprised by some of the selections here. They may decide to protect someone like Calvin deHaan in favor of Riley Stillman but that would be a bad idea. He is an often injured older defenseman that only has one year left on his deal. The Hawks signed Stillman to a long-term contract for a reason. Nikita Zadorov is also someone for Seattle to consider if they want to take a Blackhawks defenseman.
As for the forwards, the top ones are obvious. It would make more sense to protect players like Borgstrom and Suter instead of players like Brandon Hagel, David Kampf, or Adam Gaudette. Those are good players but every team is going to lose a pretty good player. It makes more sense to leave those guys unprotected and give the younger players a chance.
Kevin Lankinen is the obvious goalie to protect. Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban are both exposed as each team needs to have at least one available. After the Expansion Draft is over, you can expect them to sign a backup (or 1A) in free agency to help Lankinen out.
The Chicago Blackhawks are going to lose a talented player to the Seattle Kraken.
With all of the talent around the NHL, the Seattle Kraken have a chance to put together a very formidable team in 2021-22. They also play in the very weak Pacific Division so you just never know. You can assume that they will make a trade or two during the Expansion Draft as well which is what helped the Vegas Golden Knights be so successful.
Add in the fact that they have the second overall pick and it looks even better. The Blackhawks need to do whatever means necessary to make sure they handle this well. They are in a very important phase of their “retool” and this Seattle Kraken business is a big part of it.
One man was killed and three others wounded in a shooting late Friday night in Austin on the West Side.
About 11:55 p.m., the four men were standing outside in the 700 block of North Lockwood Avenue when three people approached them and fired shots, Chicago police said.
A 29-year-old man was struck in the head and back and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He has not yet been identified.
A man, 40, suffered gunshot wounds to the hip and leg and another man, 45, was also struck in the leg, police said. Both men were transported to Stroger Hospital in serious condition.
A fourth man, 62, suffered a graze wound to the back and was taken to the same hospital in good condition.
The shooters may have entered a gray Nissan after the attack, according to police.
PHOENIX — The last time the Cubs played a game, it was the final game of a rough stretch that saw them lose 13 of their final 16 games before the All-Star break. But in their first game of the second half, they got things started on the right foot.
If there was one thing the Cubs offense can still do with the best of ’em, it’s hit the ball out of the ballpark. While their lineup may look different in a few weeks, there’s still plenty of thump in it right now and they showed it in Friday’s 5-1 win over the DBacks as they slugged three homers in the victory.
“I just think the [All-Star] break was really nice for a lot of us,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “Especially opening up out here. A lot of guys were able to come out early and relax or come out west on vacation a little bit. But I just think that stretch was tough and we really needed that reset at the All-Star break.
With the game tied at 1, Rizzo gave the Cubs a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Rizzo came into the game hitting .350 off left-handed pitching and showed Madison Bumgarner why as he launched a solo homer in the fourth inning to make it a 2-1 game.
Third baseman Patrick Wisdom had a breakout first half with 12 homers in 43 games and started his second half in similar fashion by hitting a towering solo shot to make it a 3-1 Cubs lead.
“I think these guys just came out and played nice baseball,” manager David Ross said. “I just think we got good starting pitching and we got timely hitting.”
But the Cubs would get one more big swing on the night. Jason Heyward had never hit a pinch-hit homer in his career, but in the seventh inning, he got his opportunity and didn’t miss it. Heyward’s pinch-hit, two-run blast put the game out of reach.
The offense was more than enough for starter Kyle Hendricks, who won his 12th game of the season on Friday. The victory ties him with Dodgers starter Luis Urias for the MLB lead. Hendricks tossed six innings of one-run ball in the victory, lowering his season ERA to 3.65 in the process.
The Cubs’ right-hander has now gone at least six innings in 13 of his last 14 starts.
“Wanted to set a good tone,” Hendricks said. “Obviously, winning being the main goal. … We’re just focused on staying in the moment. Leave the past in the past. We’ve tried to come into today with a little fresh start and focus on the game today.”
Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Chicago time. After that, the moon moves from Libra into Scorpio.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Because your concentration on home and family has been strong lately, it’s not surprising that you might have power struggles with someone, especially a parent. Think before you react! Take a moment so you don’t just react, you thoughtfully respond.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Yowsers! Today is ripe for power struggles with others — be they siblings, relatives or encounters with routine contacts. Be careful because if you are distracted in heated dispute, this could lead to an accident. Therefore, pull in your reins. Be aware.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Don’t get your belly in a rash over financial matters because it’s not worth it. (Of course, in the passion of the moment, it is.) But if you step back and take a long-range view, you will see that because you are having such a successful year, you can be big about things. Show largess.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Power struggles between you and someone close to you might take place. But look at the definition of this type struggle? Why is it so important to have power and control? What is really going on? When the annals of history are written, will any of this really matter? Doubtful.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Life is full of constant change and an illusion that we constantly harbor is that we can be in control of things. But we can’t. If we could, there would be no accidents, no sudden deaths, no fires and no heartbreak. Don’t be upset about something over which you have no control.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
A serious dispute with a friend, or perhaps one of your kids, might take place today. This dispute might also take place with a member of a group. Essentially, you are idealistically opposed and each of you seems to be stuck in your own POV. Does this sound enlightened?
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Steer clear of nasty quarrels with bosses, parents, teachers and the police, because they could arise today. If so, what will you gain by standing up against them? If you are being abused, this is a different matter. But perhaps you are just rebelling for rebellion’s sake?
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Disputes about politics, race or religion might take place today. You have to ask yourself what will this accomplish? Most likely, you will not change anyone else’s POV. Perhaps you just need to express your anger or your anxiety? Better to stay calm.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Arguments about money, responsibilities, shared property or issues related to inheritances and insurance might arise today. If so, this will be a serious standoff. (Bad Day at Black Rock.) Try to sidestep this kind of intense showdown if you can. You’ll feel better.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
A power struggle with someone who is close to you might take place today. Actually, our closest relationships often entail power struggles. Who’s in control? Who’s calling the shots? Who is to blame? Who made this happen? This is a childish, simplistic interpretation of life, isn’t it?
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Equipment breakdowns at work are likely. Perhaps power struggles related to your pet or your job might take place. If they have an “all or nothing” characteristic to them, this is your first clue. Ultimatums like “all or nothing” are immature expressions of bullying.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Parents must be patient and tolerant with their kids today. Likewise, romantic partners must be forgiving with each other because power struggles can lead to painful misunderstandings and meaningless endings.
If Your Birthday Is Today
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (1947), shares your birthday. You are cheery, compassionate and caring. You are also determined and ambitious. You are intelligent and are an interesting conversationalist because you have excellent listening skills. This year is a gentler, quieter year for you. Your focus on partnerships and close friendships will be stronger. Because of this, you will be tactful and diplomatic in your conversations with everyone.
PHOENIX – There’s a lot of things in store for the Cubs over the next 14 days and while the trade deadline line is going to be a major marker in the team’s second half, there is also a long time between now and the end of the season.
The Cubs have a veteran clubhouse, but it’s human nature to acknowledge what could lie ahead as a team or as an individual. After the trade of Joc Pederson, many on the outside have seen the next few weeks as the last days for the Cubs as currently assembled, but trying to keep his team’s focus on the present.
Before Friday’s game against the DBacks, manager David Ross’ message was a simple one and he believes his team still has a lot to play for, regardless of what the future might hold.
“We just got to focus on today,” Ross said. “I think that if we get outside of focusing on beating the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight, then we’re going to shortchange ourselves. The fact that you got contracts coming up or you might get traded in two weeks, or what might happen tomorrow or two weeks or at the end of this season doesn’t affect anything that we’re doing today and how we compete and bring our best today.
“That’s what I think we can control, is our today and competing and trying to win a baseball game and what we do in the box or on the mound today is what’s most important. I think that’s what good teams focus on.”
It’s no secret that the final three weeks of the first half weren’t kind to the Cubs as the team lost 13 of its last 16 games entering the break. However, even amid an uncertain future, Ross wants his team to have a clean slate. Before Friday’s game, he briefly met with the team to discuss the second half.
“There’s expectations here for this group,” Ross said. “I think there’s a real positive that can be taken from the core group here and what they created [with] that expectation. Willson, J-Hey, Javy, Rizz, KB, Kyle Hendricks. Those guys created championship expectations here. I think that’s a positive.
“That’s something that they can wear as a badge of honor and pride. The fact that there’s such high expectations here is from those guys and some guys that were teammates of theirs. But the core group has been together, winning championships, winning divisions, putting up big time numbers and championship, baseball, postseason baseball here for the time they’ve been here. I think that’s a huge positive.”
The first year and a half of Ross’ tenure as manager haven’t been the easiest for someone with no previous managerial experience. While having a steep learning curve, he managed a team to a division title through an unprecedented 60-game season in 2020. This season’s first-half rollercoaster in his first “full” season at the helm, which included an 11-game losing streak, hasn’t been a walk in the park either.
But the reassessment doesn’t stop with the players and throughout his brief time as Cubs’ skipper has often talked about always trying to improve as a manager and that won’t change in the second half.
“You reflect back on some of the things I [talked about earlier]. There’s this doom and gloom over the last two weeks that I don’t know really paints the picture of our first half,” Ross said. “We played our worst baseball when Milwaukee was playing their best and going through the toughest stretch of our schedule and they’re their easiest stretch, like there’s a lot to reflect off of.”
“One of the best communicators and connectors of people that I’ve been around,” Hoyer said last week. “I think David’s a star. He’s done a fantastic job. … Sometimes in these situations people look for blame. I wouldn’t point any in his direction.”
A man was shot to death in a drive-by Friday night in West Pullman on the Far South Side.
The 26-year-old was on the street about 6:50 p.m. in the 12000 block of South Union Avenue when a vehicle pulled up and someone from inside fired shots, Chicago police said.
He was struck multiple times on the body and he was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
James Solis stood in the parking lot of a shuttered Chicago Public School drenched in water, trying to catch his breath.
The recent high school graduate, along with other West Side kids, some as young as 6, was in a massive water balloon fight Friday afternoon, but they weren’t targeting each other. Instead, their opponents were nearly a dozen Chicago police officers.
“I think this kind of helps make the relationship better because there is a lot of head butting with people in authority and young kids like ourselves,” Solis said. “It gets us to a common ground that not all police are bad and not all kids are bad — really we just want to help each other out.”
For the last four years, Solis has participated in The BASE Chicago, which helps young people improve their academic prowess through sports. He credits the organization with getting him through a difficult time when his father died. The BASE, he said, put him on a path to play baseball for Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, starting this fall.
The BASE Chicago organized the water balloon fight with the Chicago Police Knights Baseball Club — a team made up with active police officers — and the Westside Ministers Collaborative. Kids enrolled in programs at Tilton Park also took part.
West Side youth had a water balloon fight with Chicago police officers from the Chicago Police Knights Baseball Club on Friday. Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Solis said officers from the Knights have become a staple in the organization; now, rather than be scared of police in the community, he sees them as friends and mentors.
Frank Brim, executive director of The BASE Chicago, said the water fight was a way to help normalize relations with the police and also humanize the young people from the West Side.
“A lot of times kids in this ZIP code have been known for being what some considered bad kids and we want to introduce our kids as great kids doing some great things who have phenomenal parents,” Brim said. “We also have the police officers and some of our kids feel a certain way about them, so this is an opportunity to get them engaged.”
Solis said he knows firsthand how important it is for police to show young people like him that they care about the community.
Eric Bermudez, a Chicago police officer, said the water fight was fun, but more importantly, events like this are essential to building trust.
“It’s an amazing feeling to get out here into the community in a positive and safe environment with our youth to show them we are out here for them and we care,” Bermudez said. “This kind of thing is essential; in order to effect change, you got to go out and make change. We are out here and we care.”
Officers from the Chicago Police Knights Baseball Club held a water balloon fight with West Side Youth, many from The BASE, a youth sports league. The two sides squared off outside the former Marconi Elementary Community Academy on Friday.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Gloria Richardson, an influential yet largely unsung civil rights pioneer whose determination not to back down while protesting racial inequality was captured in a photograph as she pushed away the bayonet of a National Guardsman, has died. She was 99.
Tya Young, her granddaughter, said Richardson died in her sleep Thursday in New York City and had not been ill. Young said while her grandmother was at the forefront of the civil rights movement, she didn’t seek praise or recognition.
“She did it because it needed to be done, and she was born a leader,” Young said.
Richardson was the first woman to lead a prolonged grassroots civil rights movement outside the Deep South. In 1962, she helped organized and led the Cambridge Movement on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with sit-ins to desegregate restaurants, bowling alleys and movie theaters in protests that marked an early part of the Black Power movement.
“I say that the Cambridge Movement was the soil in which Richardson planted a seed of Black power and nurtured its growth,” said Joseph R. Fitzgerald, who wrote a 2018 biography on Richardson titled “The Struggle is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation.”
Richardson became the leader of demonstrations over bread and butter economic issues like jobs, health care access and sufficient housing.
“Everything that the Black Lives Matter movement is working at right now is a continuation of what the Cambridge Movement was doing,” Fitzgerald said.
In pursuit of these goals, Richardson advocated for the right of Black people to defend themselves when attacked.
“Richardson always supported the use of nonviolent direct action during protests, but once the protests were over and if Black people were attacked by whites she fully supported their right to defend themselves,” Fitzgerald said.
Richardson was born in Baltimore and later lived in Cambridge in Maryland’s Dorchester County — the same county where Harriet Tubman was born. She entered Howard University when she was 16. During her years in Washington, she began to protest segregation at a drug store.
In 1962, Richardson attended the meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Atlanta and later joined the board.
In the summer of 1963, after peaceful sit-ins turned violent in Cambridge, Gov. J. Millard Tawes declared martial law. When Cambridge Mayor Calvin Mowbray asked Richardson to halt the demonstrations in exchange for an end to the arrests of Black protesters, Richardson declined to do so. On June 11, rioting by white supremacists erupted and Tawes called in the National Guard.
While the city was still under National Guard presence, Richardson met with U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy to negotiate what became informally known as the “Treaty of Cambridge.” It ordered equal access to public accommodations in Cambridge in return for a one-year moratorium on demonstrations.
Richardson was a signatory to the treaty, but she had never agreed to end the demonstrations. It was only the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that began to resolve issues at the local level.
She was one of the nation’s leading female civil rights’ activists and inspired younger activists who went on to protest racial inequality in the late 1960s and into the 1970s.
Richardson was on the stage at the pivotal March on Washington in 1963 as one of six women listed as “fighters for freedom” on the program. However, she was only allowed to say “hello” before the microphone was taken.
The male-centric Black Power movement and the fact that Richardson’s leadership in Cambridge lasted about three years may have obscured how influential she was, but Fitzgerald said she was well-known in Black America.
“She was only active for approximately three years, but during that time she was literally front and center in a high-stakes Black liberation campaign, and she’s being threatened,” Fitzgerald said. “She’s got white supremacist terrorists threatening her, calling her house, threatening her with her life.”
Richardson resigned from Cambridge, Maryland, Nonviolent Action Committee in the summer of 1964. Divorced from her first husband, she married photographer Frank Dandridge and moved to New York where she worked a variety of jobs, including the National Council for Negro Women.
She is survived by her daughters, Donna Orange and Tamara Richardson, and granddaughters Young and Michelle Price.
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