This story is part of a collaboration between the Lincoln Presidential Foundation and Made By Us.
Editor's note: On August 16, 2024, surrounded by civil rights leaders, community members, and elected officials, President Biden used his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument. The designation was made during the 116th anniversary of the racist riots in Springfield, IL that resulted in the lynching of two black men, Scott Burton and William Donnegan. The 1.57 acre site will be managed by the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.
In the early 20th century, the United States was experiencing what became known as “The Lynching Era.” Mob violence and extra-judicial killings of mostly Black, ethnic minority, and immigrant populations surged.
The Civil War had ended in 1865, and the decades that followed, known as Reconstruction, attempted to reintegrate the Confederate states and rebuild the nation. Slavery had been abolished, but “freedom” was still elusive in practice. The fight for equal rights and protection continued amid a new wave of racial terror, which was often overlooked by authorities. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, the ratio of Black lynching victims to white lynching victims increased from 4 to 1 in the late 19th century to 17 to 1 after 1900.
Despite the success of many advocates pushing for Black Americans’ justice, safety and rights, there was not yet a national organization coordinating these efforts. But in 1908, a horrific event took place in Springfield, Illinois, a city known for its most famous resident, President Abraham Lincoln. This moment would catalyze a generation in service of creating an essential, national organization: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also known as the NAACP.
“THE SPRINGFIELD RACE RIOT”
In August 1908, thousands of white rioters descended on Springfield, IL. The rioters destroyed the homes and businesses of Black and Jewish residents, and the property of others they perceived as allied with the Black community. Many of these events took place within blocks of President Lincoln’s former home, which was being operated as a museum. Forty-three years after Lincoln’s assassination, the mob reportedly made direct references to the president, chanting “Abe Lincoln brought them [Black residents] to Springfield and we will drive them out,” among other racially charged statements. The mob committed a series of violent crimes, including arson, battery, robbery, and assault over the course of three days. They lynched two Black residents, William Donnegan and Scott Burton.
What propelled this incident? Many racist riots of this era often grew out of attempts at vigilante justice, the majority being when white residents sought to exact violence against African Americans for alleged crimes. “The Springfield Race Riot ”was no different. In Springfield in July of 1908, Joe James, a Black man, was accused of the murder of Clergy Ballard, a white man, and had been detained for trial. One month later, another Black man, George Richardson, was accused of raping a white woman, Mabel Hallam. The day after Richardson was arrested, on August 14, 1908, a mob formed and attempted to storm the county jail in order to kidnap the accused men and carry out mob justice. Sheriff Charles Werner distracted the mob and relocated James and Richardson. Angered at being thwarted, the mob continued to grow, and the violence escalated. Local authorities were overwhelmed by the mob. The Illinois National Guard was called in after two days to restore order in Springfield.
As many as nine individuals, including both those lynched and mob participants, were killed as a result of the riot. The two lynching victims, Donnegan and Burton, weren’t even connected to the events that sparked the mob violence. The nature of the event made accurate documentation at the time challenging. Additionally, the violence forced anywhere from hundreds to thousands of African Americans to flee Springfield, leaving behind their homes, belongings, and community. Many of those who fled the city never returned. Hallam later admitted she had falsely accused Richardson of rape. James was quickly tried, convicted, and executed, though legal experts today have sought a pardon for James, arguing that he had been denied a fair trial. With the information we have now about these accusations, the injustice and violence of the Springfield riot is even more pronounced.
THE NEED TO ORGANIZE
The location of the “Springfield Race Riot” was significant to racial equality activists. As Black civil rights leaders and white liberals noted at the time, the mob violence took place in a town strongly associated with Abraham Lincoln, who represented emancipation and the fight for greater equality. When writing on the riot in her autobiography, Ida B. Wells reflected that the Black men were lynched “under the shadow of Abraham Lincoln’s tomb.”
The violence of the “1908 Springfield Race Riot” was the final tipping point that led activists to double down on their efforts towards racial equality. A first meeting was held as the “National Negro Committee.” Six months later, 7 Black leaders and 53 white leaders – including W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, William Walling and Oswald Garrison Villard – published a call for racial justice on February 12, 1909, Lincoln’s 100th birthday, that officially established the NAACP.
The decision to create the NAACP on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was connected to established traditions. In addition to celebrations like Freedom’s Eve, also known as Watch Night, and Juneteenth, that were directly tied to the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans had been commemorating Lincoln’s birthday since at least 1865, the year after his assassination. That tradition, coupled with the tradition of celebrating Frederick Douglass’ birthday on February 14th, were incorporated into Black History Week, which became part of what we now recognize as Black History Month every February.
While the NAACP met in New York City, Springfield, Illinois marked the Centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth with two separate events. The Lincoln Centennial Association held a whites-only black-tie banquet for hundreds of attendees in the Illinois State Arsenal. The arsenal was, ironically, the same space used as a temporary refuge for Black families seeking safe harbor from the riots just six months earlier. Photographs of the main event depict a sea of all-white, all-male attendees. Women attendees were seated in balconies above the main event. The only Black people in attendance were waitstaff. Robert Lincoln, the late President’s only surviving son, was a guest of honor. Meanwhile, the African American community in Springfield held their own celebration. They gathered for a celebratory banquet at Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, which was attended by local politicians and community leaders.
The NAACP was the first national coming together of activists around racial equality, but it still had a ways to go to become the multiracial and inclusive advocate for change it aspired to be. In 1910, scholar W.E.B. Du Bois was the organization's only African American executive. DuBois had criticized segregation, claiming that, “The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line.” Over time, as membership in the NAACP grew to an impressive 90,000 members by 1919, more Black leadership took the reins. In 1920, James Weldon Johnson became the first Black executive secretary.
The creation of the NAACP marked a turning point in history, establishing a new organized effort to fight back against racial violence and for freedom, justice, and equal opportunity. Throughout its history, the NAACP has spearheaded important anti-lynching, anti-segregation, voting rights, and economic opportunity campaigns. Prior to becoming the first African American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall Jr. successfully argued 29 cases in front of the Court, including the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education that ended legal segregation in public schools.
SIXTH GRADERS CALL FOR REMEMBRANCE
For decades, the history of the “1908 Springfield Race Riot” went unacknowledged by the city. In the early 1990s, two Springfield sixth-graders, Lindsay Price and Amanda Staab, appeared before City Council to question why the city had never formally acknowledged the riot. In response, the Mayor established a Committee to commemorate the racist riot and to install eight historical markers around the central business district that told the story of the riot. They have since been updated to include quotes from President Abraham Lincoln and President Barack Obama. Visitors are also able to take a walking tour that traces the route of the mob and portions of Eleventh Street were designated “Reconciliation Way.” Lincoln Home National Historic Site, along with numerous partners, created a history brochure for visitors.
In 2014, a major rail infrastructure project in Springfield revealed extensive archaeological finds from the structures destroyed because of the “1908 Springfield Race Riot.” In the decade since the discovery, a broad-based coalition, including the Springfield branch of the NAACP, has pushed for the site to be federally designated and protected as a National Monument. In 2020, the National Park Service was directed by Congress to conduct a Special Resource Study, which evaluated its national significance and feasibility of adding it as a unit within the National Park Service. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin have re-introduced legislation to designate the site a National Monument.
As Abraham Lincoln once said, “The struggle of today, is not altogether for today–it is for a vast future also.” Together, a broad and diverse community are uniting to preserve the story and lessons of the “1908 Springfield Race Riot” for generations to come. As history itself demonstrates, how we choose to commemorate the nation’s past has a direct connection to how we move toward a shared future.
Ms. Erin Carlson Mast is currently based in the Chicago area and serves as President & CEO of the Lincoln Presidential Foundation. She previously served as CEO of President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, DC, which was recognized with a Presidential Medal for its international Students Opposing Slavery program. She also serves as Chair of the American Association for State and Local History’s U.S. 250th Campaign in support of inclusive history.
Ms. Kathryn Harris is a longtime resident of Springfield, IL and retired career librarian, most recently serving as Interim Director of the City’s Lincoln Library. She has served as a longtime Board Member of the African American History Museum of Springfield and Central Illinois. In 2016, she became the first woman and African American to serve as President of the Abraham Lincoln Association since its inception in 1909.
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