The Past That Persists: The Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument Designation

On August 16, 2024, in the presence of 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 116^th anniversary of the racist riots in Springfield, IL that resulted in the lynching of two black men, Scott Burton and William Donnegan and the creation of what is now known as the NAACP.

The National Monument designation was decades in the making. It is the culmination of a diverse local and national group of individuals and organizations coming together in pursuit of a common cause.

“We Will Drive Them Out”

The violence began on August 14, 1908, when a mob formed at the county jail demanding the Sheriff turn over Joe James and George Richardson, two black men accused of committing violent crimes against white people. James was being detained for the murder of Clergy Ballard. Richardson had been accused of raping Mabel Hallam and was detained on August 13. (Hallam later recanted her story.) Sheriff Charles Werner managed to distract the mob and relocate James and Richardson. Rather than this resulting in the mob dispersing, it resulted in it escalating in size and violence. Local authorities were overwhelmed by the mob.

Thousands of white rioters, both native-born and immigrants, lynched two Black residents, William Donnegan and Scott Burton, and committed other violent crimes, including arson, battery, robbery, and assault over the course of three days. The mob marched past Lincoln’s former home, which was already being operated as a tourist destination at the time. They also reportedly made direct references to the president during the riots, chanting “Abe Lincoln brought them [Black residents] to Springfield and we will drive them out.” The mob targeted Black homes and businesses as well as those owned by white residents perceived as sympathetic or allied with the Black population.  As many as nine individuals, including those lynched and those participating in the mob, were killed during the riot. Two days after the riots began, the Illinois National Guard was called in to restore order. The violence forced anywhere from hundreds to thousands of Black residents in Springfield to flee.

“The Final Tipping Point”

The Springfield 1908 Race Riot occurred in the middle of what historians have referred to as the “Lynching Era,” in which mob violence and extra-judicial killings of mostly Black, ethnic minority, and immigrant populations surged. Data shows that the ratio of Black lynching victims to White lynching victims increased from 4 to 1 in the late nineteenth century to 17 to 1 after 1900. It occurred at a time of notable social and economic upheaval, political corruption, and demographic shifts. Springfield—and Illinois generally–also had a history of issues with segregation, oppression, and bigotry.At the same time, lynchings were considerably less common in “northern” states.

The Springfield mob violence and lynchings were especially disturbing to Black civil rights leaders and white liberals because it took place in Springfield, a town that actively promoted its association with Abraham Lincoln, whose legacy was linked to emancipation and the fight for greater equality.  In her autobiography, Ida B. Wells-Barnett wrote that the Black men were lynched “under the shadow of Abraham Lincoln’s tomb,” a comment that underscored the symbolic magnitude of what had happened. The victims were not connected to the events that sparked the mob violence in the first place. One of them was, however, connected to Abraham Lincoln. Wells noted that one of the victims was “an old citizen of Springfield who had been married to a white woman for twenty years and had reared a family of children by her.” That man was William Donnegan, a shoemaker who had, many decades prior, once made a pair of shoes for the future President and had been a known conductor on the Underground Railroad.

The Springfield 1908 Race Riot became what the NAACP has described as “the final tipping point.” It spurred a multi-racial coalition to come together to fight back against racial violence and inequity.  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, and Oswald Garrison Villard – published a call for racial justice on February 12, 1909, Lincoln’s 100th birthday. The decision to establish the NAACP on the Centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was connected to established traditions. In addition to celebrations like Freedom’s Eve and Juneteenth, Lincoln’s birthday held significant importance for many African American communities and was a day where celebrations were held to commemorate emancipation.

“The Springfield what? I didn’t know.”

For decades, the history of the “Springfield 1908 Race Riot” went unacknowledged by the city. Then, in the early 1990s, two local sixty-graders, Lindsay Price and Amanda Staab appeared before City Council presenting a petition, signed by dozens of their classmates, that asked the city to formally acknowledge the riot. The mayor responded by establishing a committee to commemorate the Springfield Race Riot. The city installed eight historical markers about the riot, later updated to include quotes from Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama. There were other efforts over the years to preserve and share the history. For example, an oral history project in the 1970s collected first-hand accounts of what happened. The centennial of the race riot resulted in exhibits and a new sculpture by artist Preston Jackson. A walking tour allows visitors to trace the route, including a stretch called “Reconciliation Way.” And Lincoln Home National Historic Site partnered with others to publish a history brochure for visitors.

In 2014, a major rail infrastructure project in Springfield uncovered extensive archaeological finds from the structures destroyed because of the “1908 Springfield Race Riot.” The discovery was a catalyst for the decades-long push by a broad-based coalition for federal designation and protection of the site. The coalition grew to include local and national representation from NAACP, ACLU, Sierra Club, National Religious Partnership for the Environment, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, and others. Advocacy efforts were bipartisan from the start, a fact that undoubtedly helped the effort transcend multiple changes to elected leaders (and political parties in control) at the local and federal level. The effort was also bolstered by the unwavering support of Senators Duckworth and Durbin and the Congressional Black Caucus. 

A breakthrough came in 2020, when Congress directed the National Park Service to conduct a Special Resource Study (SRS) to evaluate the national significance of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot site and feasibility of adding it as a unit of the National Park Service. Official visits by NPS officials and a public meeting followed. After the study was completed, Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin re-introduced legislation to designate the site a National Monument.

In June 2024, between 250-400 people gathered in Springfield for a public meeting hosted by the U.S. Department of the Interior and The White House Council on Environmental Quality. Dozens offered testimony in support of designating the Springfield 1908 Race Riot site a national monument. Echoing similar stories, one young woman recounted the day she asked her father for help coming up with an idea for a6th grade history report . When he suggested the Springfield Race Riot, she replied, “The Springfield what? I didn’t know.” Multiple speakers applauded the incredible diversity of the assembled audience. Each person who rose to speak offered a unique perspective on the importance of federal designation. There was not a single voice of dissent.

Tragically, a month after the June meeting, a white deputy from Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office shot and killed Sonya Massey, a 36-year old black woman, in her own home.  She was pronounced dead at a local hospital run by the Hospital Sisters Health Systems, the same order of Sisters who cared for the dead and wounded, including William Donnegan, in the wake of the brutal attacks and lynchings in 1908. The Massey family later revealed to reporters that Sonya was a Donnegan descendant (genealogical research confirms that her Great-Great-Great Uncle was William Donnegan).  Peaceful protestors, reporters, and elected leaders noted the tragic connection between the past and present.

President Biden’s proclamation designating the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument notes that it, “will also showcase the power of individual Americans who came together across racial lines and took action in the face of injustice.”  While the designation is a tremendous milestone, the work is far from complete. The National Park Service is now faced with the task of preserving and opening this new unit to the public.  Recognizing this, the coalition continues to convene, preparing to support “America’s Storytellers” in their ongoing efforts to share a more inclusive history of our nation.