On the 116th anniversary of what would become known as the Springfield Race Riot, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski announced the site will become a national monument.
Budzinski is among the elected officials who have pushed for the designation over several years. She said President Biden will use his authority under the Antiquities Act.
“More than a century ago, Springfield’s Black community was attacked in an act of hateful and senseless violence. While the 1908 Springfield Race Riot demonstrates our nation’s deep history of racial violence, it also sparked the creation of the NAACP – reflecting the strength and resilience of Black Americans in the tireless fight for civil rights," she said.
During the Race Riot, a mob of white residents murdered at least six Black Americans, burned Black homes and businesses and attacked hundreds of residents for no other reason than the color of their skin. In the aftermath of the riot, the NAACP was formed.
According to the official account of what took place, on the evening of August 14, 1908, after being accused of unrelated sexual assault and murder crimes, two Black men were sitting in jail. Tension was rising, as a large mob of about 5,000 white people were gathering outside, trying to take matters into their own hands. They were demanding the release of both George Richardson and Joe James.
George, who was accused of raping a white woman and Joe, who was accused of murdering a white man. As the police were sensing danger, the county sheriff, with help from Harry Loper, a white business owner, secretly removed the two prisoners through the back door and put them on a train that transported them to another jail in Bloomington, IL. Once the mob learned of this move, they erupted in mass racial violence.
Spreading out, the mob headed towards the Black neighborhoods. Looting and damaging Black owned business, destroying their homes, and eventually lynching two important members of the black community, Scott Burton and William Donegan. Springfield endured racial violence for days, until Illinois Governor, Charles Deneen called the Illinois National Guard to bring the riots under control.
The nation was shocked by the racial violence that occurred and the irony of it happening in the hometown of Abraham Lincoln, if it could happen in Springfield, it could happen anywhere, activists believed.
As a result, many died including both black and white residents. Dozens of Black owned homes and business were burned to the ground, causing property damage of over $150,000, a large cost in 1908. These events caused thousands of the Black residents to pack up their families and move out of Springfield, some to never return.
Of the two accused Black men, who were the main focus of the racial violence, Joe James was eventually tried, convicted and hanged for the murder of Clergy Ballard. George Richardson was set free after his accuser, Mabel Hallam recanted her story.
During an excavation as part of the Springfield High Speed Rail project near Carpenter Street, foundations and artifacts from homes destroyed during the riot were uncovered. An agreement with community members was reached in 2018 to excavate the remains and designate the uncovered site a memorial.
The designation will place the site under U.S. National Park Service management.
President Biden invited Austin Randolph, Springfield NAACP president and Ken Page, Springfield ACLU president to the White House on Friday for the designation.
"This event represents many years of work to keep the history of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot alive. Starting in 1994 when the Race Riot markers were installed, the 100th year anniversary commemoration in 2008, to now, when the president will use the Antiquities Act to make this designation." Page said in a statement. "The journey for us was long and well worth it."
"Today’s announcement is a critical step forward to honor those who were killed in the 1908 attack and acknowledge the impact this tragedy had on the Springfield community and our nation as a whole. I couldn’t be more grateful to our local leaders and community members for their partnership in advocacy and I look forward to seeing this history preserved for generations to come,” Budzinski said.
Budzinski joined with Congressman Darin LaHood, Senats Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth on the bipartisan 1908 Race Riot National Monument Act . In December of 2023, Budzinski sent a letter to President Biden asking him to use his authority to make the site a national monument.
