Chicago History Museum opens '1968' exhibit

CHICAGO (WLS) -- If you remember 1968 you have to agree with the Chicago History Museum that that one 12-month period changed the world, the country, Chicago and all of us who lived through it. There has been no year like it since.

"There's the escalation of Vietnam in January, early in that year. And then by the middle of the year we have the assassination of Dr. King. The assassination of Robert Kennedy. So people are dealing with a lot of violence that year," says Joy Bivins, curator at the Chicago History Museum.

After the death of Martin Luther King in April, riots broke out and parts of Chicago went up in flames. Then in august the Democratic National Convention came to town and once again the lives of Chicagoans were turned upside down.

Protestors at that time said, "The whole world is watching," and what the world saw was not pleasant. It was a period of life out of control, of totally different viewpoints meeting head on. Now visitors wander through that year again.

"I want them to understand that history is not a long ago thing," Bivins says. "History is happening now and we're all participating in it."

But the exhibit is not just about the Vietnam War and death. Like many other years, 1968 was also filled with the good things in life.

"(The exhibit also features) fun stuff. The music, the films, the television, appliances, the esthetics that were really popular among Americans in 1968," says Bivins.

"1968" runs at the Chicago History Museum until January 4th.