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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Illinois >> Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument – Illinois tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument – Illinois

Images of Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument – Illinois, taken in September 2024.

In August of 1908, thousands of Whites destroyed Black homes and businesses in Springfield, along with businesses of Jewish residents and Whites sympathetic to the Black Community, and lynched two Black men. The reason for the riot was that two Black men were accused of murder and sexual assault of White residents. Little evidence corroborated the actions and the sexual assault accusation was eventually withdrawn, however, the charges served as the pretext for driving the Black residents out of the area.

It doesn’t get newer or more undeveloped than this! The Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument was signed into existence by President Joe Biden on August 16, 2024 and I arrived in Springfield, Illinois a mere twenty days later on my way to visit the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. So, not one to miss a golden opportunity, I tracked down all the available information on the new park and paid it a visit. As the images reveal, there is only scarred land, the parking lot of St. John’s Hospital Women & Children’s Clinic and a park sign. Someday it will be much more, but for now I’ll simply count myself as one of the first early visitors to the new park.
New monument National Park Service sign in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
New monument National Park Service sign in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM 		Park site and boundary in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
Park site and boundary in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM		 Site, which is currently the parking lot of a St. John’s Hospital Clinic in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
Site, which is currently the parking lot of a St. John’s Hospital Clinic in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM		 1908 Race Riot Mural in the St. John’s Hospital Women & Children’s Clinic in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
1908 Race Riot Mural in the St. John’s Hospital Women & Children’s Clinic in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
St. John’s Hospital Women & Children’s Clinic 1908 Race Riot Mural in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
St. John’s Hospital Women & Children’s Clinic 1908 Race Riot Mural in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM		 Vacant lot across the 10th street railroad tracks in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
Vacant lot across the 10th street railroad tracks in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM		 Part of the future site of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
Part of the future site of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM		 Acts of Intolerance monument at the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM
Acts of Intolerance monument at the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM

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