President Joe Biden has designated the site of the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois as a national monument.
On Friday (August 16), Biden signed a proclamation to designate the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument, per the Associated Press.
“We can’t let these things fade,” Biden said before signing the order in the Oval Office, where he was joined by civil rights leaders, community members, and elected officials.
Violence broke out just blocks away from President Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield from August 14 to August 16, 1908, according to the White House. The riot stemmed from a white mob wanting two men to be released from the county jail so they could be lynched. The men were in custody based on claims from two white accusers, one of whom later recanted.
The two men were moved to a jail 60 miles away in Bloomington in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. However, dozens of Black and Jewish businesses and homes were destroyed, and the two men were lynched.
At least eight white people were killed and 100 injured in the riot, according to reports. It's unclear how many Black people were injured or killed. White rioters initially were charged but were later acquitted for their roles in lynching and destruction.
The Springfield race riot was "representative of the racism, intimidation, and violence that Black Americans experienced across the country,” according to the White House. The incident also led to the creation of the NAACP in 1909 on Lincoln’s birthday, Feb. 12.
“Good things can come out of bad things as long as you don’t forget what happened,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth said at the proclamation's signing.
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