In August 1908, mobs of white residents tore through Illinois' capital city under the pretext of meting out judgment against two Black men.
FILE - Sculptures representing charred chimneys rising from the smoldering rubble of burned-out buildings make up the Centennial memorial of the 1908 Race Riot entitled, "Acts of Intolerance" by Preston Jackson, on Wednesday March 22, 2023, in Springfield, Ill.
People are starting to take notice because it is an untold story," Teresa Haley, former president of the Springfield NAACP, said of the riot. "It's a deep, dark, dirty secret that Springfield is scared of. In August 1908, mobs of white residents tore through Illinois' capital city under the pretext of meting out judgment against two Black men — one jailed on a sexual assault charge involving a white woman, and the other jailed in the separate murder of a white man.
At least eight white people were killed in the violence and more than 100 were injured, mostly by members of the state's militia or each other, according to news articles from that period. It's not known how many Black people were injured and killed. It's ironic that we are now at the very foundation of what this family has stood for for hundreds of years. We will continue to make change across America. This is just the beginning," Massey said. "It's appropriate. We have been the catalysts of change since 1908. We're continuing the tradition.
NAACP National Monument Biden Civil Rights Sonya Massey 1908 Racial Violence
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