Do you think the chicago race riots would have
happened even if the boy was not killed in lake
michigan? why or why not?

Yes, it would happen in any case, as the contradictions between Blacks and Whites were quite acute.

Explanation:

Almost from the moment Chicago was granted city status in 1837, the African-American community existed there. In the 1850s, Chicago became one of the final points of the underground railway route; in the 1860s, the city residents unconditionally supported Lincoln. In 1865, school segregation was canceled in Chicago; in 1870, blacks received civil rights in the state, and in 1872 the first Black was appointed a police officer in Chicago. In 1876, the first black lawyer from Chicago was elected to the House of Representatives of the Illinois Legislative Assembly. However, during this period, there were relatively few blacks in Chicago - by 1900, the number of African-American communities reached 30 thousand people. The situation began to change dramatically at the beginning of the 20th century. Tens of thousands of Black families began to move from the agrarian southern states to large cities in the north. This wave of immigration did not pass by Chicago. From 1916 to 1919, the number of African-Americans in the city increased from 40 to 109 thousand (4% of the population). Moreover, among industrial workers, the proportion of blacks reached 20%. 90% of Black families lived in South Side, the Chicago ghetto.

By the end of the First World War, the confrontation of whites and blacks in Chicago reached its climax. The main opponents of African-Americans were representatives of the white working class - the Irish, Poles, Italians, many of whom were immigrants, and direct rivals of blacks in the struggle for jobs. In addition, the city had an influential political Irish lobby. The propaganda was carried out by the Ku Klux Klan, recreated in 1915 and numbering several million members across the country. On the other hand, the African-American movement Back to Africa, whose leader M. Garvey visited Chicago, was gaining strength. World War veterans, both white and black, also became participants in the conflicts. Groups of white and black came into direct confrontation, and cold-arms were used.

i am pretty sure the awsers is d.