President Biden Designates Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument

By JERRY NOWICKI & ANDREW ADAMS 

Capitol News Illinois

President Joe Biden signed a proclamation on Friday to designate the “Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument” on the 116^th anniversary of the deadly riot in the state capital. 

“We're allowing history to be written – what happened – so our children, our grandchildren, everybody understands what happened and what could still happen,” Biden said at an Oval Office ceremony to designate the monument. 

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch – the first Black man to hold that position in Illinois –said he became emotional while attending the White House ceremony upon an invite from Biden’s staff. 

“That race riot led to the creation of the NAACP, which led to Thurgood Marshall, which led to Brown versus Board of Education, and so many big victories in this country when it comes to race relations,” Welch said in a phone interview. “You have to say that it was this that led to the creation of opportunities for people like me to become the first Black speaker.” 

In August 1908, a white mob lynched two Black men, Scott Burton and William K. Donnegan, and burned down homes and businesses in the city’s Black community. The riots were spurred by the mob seeking to lynch two men held in the Sangamon County Jail, Joe James and George Richardson. James had been accused and was later convicted in the county of murdering a white man, while Richardson was accused of sexually assaulting a white woman who later signed a statement saying she had falsified the allegation.

Biden’s proclamation said the deadly event was “emblematic of the racism, intimidation, violence, and lynchings that Black Americans experienced in communities across the country in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.”

The monument will be located between N. 9th and 11th streets, and between E. Mason and E. Madison streets.

Welch said it’s important to emphasize history to avoid repeating it, and he mentioned the July 6 killing of Sonya Massey, a Black woman, by a white police officer. 

“We have a party in this country right now that would love to erase history. They want us to forget a lot of the things that make America, America,” he said. “And I think it's important that we continue to recognize the significance of these events and make sure folks remember what occurred in this country.”