Skip to content

35,126 Entries
33 Added in Past 24 Hours

A Proclamation on the Establishment of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument

Excerpt:  “In August 1908, mere blocks from the former home of President Abraham Lincoln, a white mob attacked the Black community in Springfield, Illinois, lynching two Black Americans and burning homes down to their foundations.  By the time the National Guard quelled the violence, the mob had looted and destroyed businesses, razed city blocks, and displaced hundreds of people from their homes.  Labeled by the media as a race riot, the event was emblematic of the racism, intimidation, violence, and lynchings that Black Americans experienced in communities across the country in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  The horror that became known as the Springfield 1908 Race Riot drew the attention of national newspapers and Black and white activists interested in social change.  In the wake of the devastation and ensuing outcry, a group of visionary civic leaders launched the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which went on to achieve momentous civil rights victories and continues to work toward racial justice and equity.”