President Joe Biden on Friday declared the site of the 1908 race riots in Springfield, Illinois, a national monument, marking a defining moment in the long and difficult history of racist violence against black people in the United States.
Biden was joined in the Oval Office by lawmakers, civil rights and community leaders as he signed the proclamation establishing the monument on 1.57 acres of federal land. The monument is intended to be a solemn reminder of the two days of unrest sparked by mobs of white residents who marched through Illinois’ capital under the guise of convicting two black men – one in prison for sexually assaulting a white woman, the other for murdering a white man.
The Democratic president is looking to burnish his legacy in his final months in office. Biden also wants to help Vice President Kamala Harris differentiate herself from former President Donald Trump, who is seeking to undermine the Democrats’ historic lead among black voters.
“We cannot let these things slip into oblivion,” Biden said before signing the proclamation. He added: “I know this may not seem important to most Americans, but it matters greatly. … It can happen again if we don’t take care of our democracy and fight for it.”
The issue of racially motivated violence continues to be an issue across the country. The memorial designation comes less than six weeks after Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old black woman, was shot and killed by a white deputy in her Springfield home after calling 911.
Biden said he saw the creation of the Springfield memorial as an opportunity to honor a significant moment of resilience in the black community. The event helped spark the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Still, Biden, who has repeatedly criticized Trump for sowing racial tensions and failing to speak out against white supremacy, expressed concern in his Oval Office remarks that the country is in a moment where he continues to “worry about people who want to erase history.”
The 1908 insurrection was a shocking event that began just blocks from where Abraham Lincoln once lived.
After authorities secretly moved the inmates out of the prison and to another prison about 60 miles away, the mob took out its anger on the city’s black population.
Two black men, Scott Burton and William Donnegan, were lynched, dozens of black and Jewish businesses were looted and vandalized, and several black-owned homes were damaged or destroyed. At least eight whites were also killed in the violence and more than 100 were injured, most by members of the state’s militia or by each other, according to newspaper articles from the time.
The National Guard was called in to restore order. White rioters were charged but later acquitted of their role in the lynching and destruction.
Annoyed civil rights leaders met in New York and founded the NAACP on February 12, 1909, Lincoln’s 100th birthday. The first board of directors included scientist WE DuBois.
President Joe Biden and Elton John delivered speeches at the opening of the Stonewall Visitor Center in New York City.
The National Park Service completed a scouting survey of the sites associated with the Springfield riots in 2018 and conducted a special resource study in 2023, which found that the sites met the criteria for inclusion in the National Park System.
“Good can come out of bad as long as you remember what happened,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), who was present at the signing.
During his presidency, Biden signed legislation making lynching a federal hate crime, established Juneteenth Day as a federal holiday, and signed a proclamation establishing a national monument at three locations in Illinois and Mississippi in honor of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley.
Fourteen-year-old Emmett was tortured and killed in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. His mother, Till-Mobley, insisted on an open casket at the funeral to show the world how brutally her son had been mistreated. Jet magazine’s decision to publish photos of his mutilated body helped mobilize the civil rights movement.
