Every city has a story. Chicago’s is tough and tender. Gangster and Midwestern. Violent and benevolent.
Chicago is the Great Fire of 1871. It is the World’s Columbian Exposition 22 years later, lusty and industrious. It is Hull House. It is jazz. It is “The Blues Brothers.” It is the bootstrap of the first African-American U.S. president.
But Chicago has another enduring if underappreciated story.
The summer of 2018 will mark the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics, an organization with deep Chicago roots that is now the largest sporting competition in the world for intellectually disabled children and adults. What began as an idea for a simple track-and-field event at Soldier Field branched into a global community serving 4.9 million athletes in 172 countries. The 2019 summer games will be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The rise of Special Olympics during the last 50 years represented more than a popular sporting event. It marked the beginning of a shift in humanity. Disabled children and adults, often abandoned, institutionalized and isolated, joined mainstream society. They were seen. They were celebrated. Countries that once confined the disabled to prisonlike conditions have now embraced and even hosted the games.
That worldwide culture change launched, slowly, with a partnership that included Eunice Kennedy Shriver of the Kennedy family foundation, now-Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, Mayor Richard J. Daley and the Chicago Park District.
Burke, who was teaching physical education classes to disabled children at the Park District, wanted to reach more students. She saw how recreation programs changed them, challenged them, encouraged them. She approached city officials with the idea of a citywide track meet.
A natural partner, the Kennedy family with Shriver leading the way had championed the needs of the disabled community. President John F. Kennedy had prioritized care for the disabled with federal funding and numerous acts of Congress to expand opportunities for this population. With the resources and enthusiasm of Mayor Daley, the Kennedys, Burke and the Park District, the first Special Olympics unfolded at Soldier Field in July 1968. Athletes from 26 states and Canada participated in the 50-yard dash, 300-yard run, field hockey, swimming and jumping.
A Chicago Tribune story published July 21, 1968, quoted Shriver: “The Chicago Special Olympics proves retarded children can be exceptional athletes; that thru (sic) sports they can realize their potential for growth. But they are only 1,000 out of 1.5 million mentally retarded children who should be given a chance to compete in games like this all over America. Our purpose here today is to secure a pledge that all retarded children will be given this chance in the future.”
Special Olympics Chicago has since helped establish programs for disabled children in more than 120 Chicago public schools and parks across the city. The worldwide 50th anniversary celebration is planned for July 17-21 in Chicago. A soccer game, sports activities, concerts and a torch run are among the expected events.
The anniversary will become part of Chicago’s story, too — another chapter in its role establishing a new era for the disabled. Special Olympics might not be as legendary to Chicago as “The Blues Brothers” or two World’s Fairs (the 1933-4 Century of Progress International Exposition included) or even the Cubs or deep-dish pizza. But there’s no question Special Olympics arguably has had a far greater impact on the world around us.
For that, Chicago should be proud.