Biden to Designate Monument for 1908 Springfield Race Riot

President Joe Biden is set to designate a national monument in memory of the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois, which resulted in several deaths, injuries, and the destruction of Black-owned businesses. The riot spurred the creation of the NAACP and highlighted ongoing racial challenges.

President Joe Biden will designate a national monument on Friday to commemorate the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois. The violent clash left several people dead, hundreds injured, and decimated Black-owned businesses and homes.

In August 1908, white mobs rampaged through the city after authorities secretly moved two Black men from jail, leading to widespread violence against the Black community. This tragic event led to the formation of the NAACP in 1909.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that civil rights and community leaders from Springfield will attend the ceremony, held in the Oval Office. "The new national monument will tell the story of a horrific attack by a white mob on a Black community that represents the racism, intimidation, and violence that Black Americans experienced across the country," according to a White House statement.

The designation comes weeks after the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by a white sheriff's deputy in Springfield. Massey's death has reignited debates over police brutality against Black Americans, similar to the nationwide protests following George Floyd's murder in 2020.

In June 2021, Biden visited Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate the 1921 massacre of Black Americans by white mobs, and later marked June 19 as a federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.