In the late summer of 1968, journalists Terry Southern, William S. Burroughs, Jean Genet, and Allen Ginsberg, along with photographer Michael Cooper, were sent by Esquire Magazine to cover the Democratic Convention in Chicago. It was a turbulent and dangerous time as the opposition to the Vietnam War inflamed the Yippies to come to Chicago to protest the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the coronation of Hubert Humphrey. Chicago was a Republican city, and Mayor Richard J. Daley wanted to present a peaceful town under the rule of law to the nation. Trouble was in the air, but no one could have foreseen the lengths to which Mayor Daley would go to achieve his goal. These journalists witnessed the summoning of the national guard, a “police riot,” and upheaval unleashed on the streets of Chicago.
Chicago 1968: The Calm Before the Storm follows the events leading up to the chaos as captured through the lens of photographer Michael Cooper (who was no war photographer) with accompanying essays by Terry Southern that reflect the intimate sphere of a public and political event that would echo throughout history. Chicago 1968 recalls the events of three fateful days in late August 1968 that should never be forgotten.