Photo of the aftermath of the Springfield Race Riot 1908 (Photo/National Park Service)
By Karen Stokes
During the 116th anniversary of the Springfield Race Riot, which occurred August 14-16, 1908, President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument in Springfield, Illinois.
The new national monument will tell the story of a horrific attack by a white mob on a Black community that was representative of the racism, intimidation, and violence that Black Americans experienced across the country.
The Springfield race riot of 1908 consisted of events of violence committed against African Americans by a mob of about 5,000 white Americans and European immigrants in Springfield, Illinois, between August 14 and 16, 1908. Two Black men–17-year-old Joe James and 36-year-old George Richardson were being held in the Sangamon County Jail in Springfield based on the claims of white accusers, including one who later recanted. They were arrested as suspects in a rape and attempted rape and murder.
When a mob seeking to lynch the men discovered the sheriff had transferred them out of the city, the whites furiously spread out to attack Black neighborhoods, murdered Black citizens on the streets, and destroyed Black businesses and homes. The state militia was called out to stop the rioting.
At least 17 people died as a result of the riot: nine Black residents, and eight white residents who were associated with the mob, six of whom were killed by crossfire or state militias and two who died by suicide.
The monument includes Preston Jackson’s “Acts of Intolerance” sculptures, which represent the charred remains of buildings destroyed during the riot. These artworks serve as a powerful reminder of the past’s horrors and the ongoing struggle for racial justice, inviting reflection on both the historical and current impacts of racial intolerance.
Preston Jackson’s sculpture Acts of Intolerence (Photo/NPR Illinois)
The Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument will protect 1.57 acres of federal land in Springfield, Illinois, and will be managed by the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.
“The Springfield community is so excited about this,” said Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, Brenda Mallory. “I had the privilege of going to Springfield in June for the public meeting that we had and it was held in a church hall on a Monday night that was overflowing there were over 400 people there and they were all there to tell me how important was for the President to take an action to acknowledge and commemorate this event and how important it has been by bringing the community together.”
“Our history is not just about the past, it’s about our present and our future. The Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument will help us remember an unspeakable attack on the Black community and honor the Americans who came together in its aftermath to help deliver on the promise of civil rights,” President Biden said in a statement.
The 1908 Springfield Race Riot National Monument will be President Biden’s eleventh use of the Antiquities Act and his second new national monument commemorating a site of significance to the Civil Rights Movement, following the creation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois last year.