•August 15, 2018•

Editor’s Note: This article is a compilation of multiple stories written by former (Springfield) State Journal-Register reporter Pete Sherman for the special section “Outrage: The events and aftermath of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot” that appeared in the June 1, 2008, edition of The SJ-R to mark the 100th anniversary of the riots.

By The (Springfield)
State Journal-Register
IPA Bicentennial Series

One of the pre-eminent civil rights organizations was born from one of the worst moments in Springfield’s history.
In August 1908, a white mob, thwarted in an attempt to lynch two black inmates in the Sangamon County Jail, went on a rampage. They destroyed dozens of black-owned businesses and homes in Springfield. Two black men were lynched and five white men died during the riot, with dozens more injured. Other deaths connected to the riots happened in the days prior to and after it ended.
Appalled that such an event took place in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown, civil rights activists in New York began meetings that led to the formation of the NAACP.
For numerous reasons, noticeable tension along racial lines existed among the 50,000 people who lived in Springfield in 1908. That tension boiled over in August, having simmered for at least a month after the first of two high-profile accusations were made against black men.
New to town
On or near June 1, 1908, 17-year-old black teenager Joe James jumped off a freight train passing through Springfield. Police ordered him to leave but James stuck around, and was eventually arrested for loitering.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.