On August 16, 2024, President Biden designated a national monument at the site of the deadly 1908 race riot in Springfield, Ill., a tragedy that led to the creation of the NAACP. “This site weaves together two important threads in our Nation’s story: the hateful violence targeted against Black Americans, and the power of dedicated individuals to come together across racial lines to transform shock and grief into hope and action,” the presidential proclamation said. The violence that erupted in Springfield served as a wake-up call to white Northerners, highlighting that the mistreatment of Black Americans was not just confined to the South
Artist Preston Jackson, who created dual sculptures commemorating the riot, titled Acts of Intolerance, was inspired by an old photograph that capture the destruction from the riot.
Unveiled in 2008, on the 100th anniversary of the horrific events, the two sculptures are shaped as charred chimneys to represent the buildings burned during the race riot. Within each chimney column are depictions of men playing music, others holding rifles — evoking themes of both intolerance and redemption.
This is what is written on the accompanying plaque:
A Commemorative Sculpture
Two charred chimneys rising from the smoldering rubble of burned-out buildings—-these stark images from an old photograph were the inspiration for this unique sculpture by acclaimed artist Preston Jackson. The sculpture commemorates the centennial of the brutal Springfield Race Riot of 1908.
During two sweltering August days, an angry white mob attacked black residents, looting and burning many of their homes and businesses upon learning that two black men—-one accused of raping a white woman and the other of killing a white man—-had been secretly transported out of town by the sheriff for their protection. In protest, white rioters lynched two innocent black men, murdered five other citizens, and injured many more before state troops arrived to quell the violence. Following the riot, the white woman, Mabel Hallam, admitted that she had been involved in an affair with a white lover and had lied about being assaulted by George Richardson, the accused black man. The other black prisoner, 17-year-old Joe James, was eventually convicted by a jury for murder and executed.
News of the vicious race riot in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown, which occurred only blocks from the Lincoln homestead, shook the nation and became the catalyst for the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in New York City in 1909 on Lincoln’s birthday.
The numerous relief images on the surface of the chimney columns depict scenes that suggest themes of intolerance and others that suggest themes of redemption. “Confronting our past strightforwardly is the only way we can learn to develop our future together,” said sculptor Preston Jackson. “The imagery leaves the viewer to contemplate their meaning and the long-term effects on how we stand socially today and will stand tomorrow.”
Historical markers placed along the mob’s pathway of destruction throughout downtown Springfield provide a fuller telling of the tragic race riot story.
Dedicated: August 6, 2009
Pat Quinn, Governor State of Illinois
Timothy J. Davlin, Mayor City of Springfield
R. Beverly Peters, Chairwoman Mayor’s 1908 Race Riot Commemoration Commission
Archie Lawrence, President NAACP Springfield Branch
Kenneth L. Page, Immediate Past President NAACP Springfield Branch
Preston Jackson, Artist
