On August 16, 2024, President Joe Biden is set to designate a national monument in Springfield, Illinois, commemorating the 1908 race riot that significantly impacted the city's Black community. This designation comes 116 years after the tragic event that led to multiple fatalities, hundreds of injuries, and the destruction of numerous Black-owned properties.
The 1908 Springfield race riot, which occurred in the capital city of Illinois and hometown of Abraham Lincoln, was a catalyst for the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. This influential civil rights organization has since played a crucial role in landmark cases such as Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that the ceremony will take place in the Oval Office, with civil rights leaders and community representatives from Springfield in attendance. The White House stated, "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."
This designation aligns with President Biden's previous efforts to address racial justice issues. In June 2021, he became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in Oklahoma, where hundreds of Black Americans were killed by a white mob. During the same month, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.
The announcement comes amid renewed discussions on racial inequality, sparked by recent events in Springfield. In July 2024, the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by a white sheriff's deputy in her home after she called for emergency assistance, has reignited debates on police brutality against Black Americans. This incident occurs four years after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which led to global protests against racial injustice in 2020.
The new national monument in Springfield will join the city's existing historical sites, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which opened in 2005. As of 2024, Springfield has a population of approximately 114,000 people and continues to grapple with its complex racial history.
By designating this national monument, President Biden exercises his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows presidents to protect areas of historic, cultural, or scientific importance. This action aims to preserve the memory of the 1908 riot, which resulted in the destruction of an area known as the "Levee," a predominantly Black neighborhood in Springfield.
The ceremony and monument designation serve as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for racial equality in the United States and the importance of acknowledging and learning from historical injustices.
"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."