Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum News


	For Immediate Release: July 22, 2008	Contact: David Blanchette (217) 558-0516
	Springfield Race Riot 100^th anniversary events scheduled for August - October Springfield, IL — It happened one hundred years ago this August, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) has scheduled a series of public events from August through October to mark the anniversary of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot. "This terrible event in Mr. Lincoln's home town marks a turning point in American race relations, and deserves to be commemorated and studied for its impact on the city, state and nation," said ALPLM Executive Director Rick Beard. A symposium, "The Story of 'Something so Horrible,'" will be held Saturday, August 16 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Presidential Library. Reservations are required for the free symposium, which includes lunch, and may be made by calling (217) 558-8934 before August 8. This day-long educational program will explore the significance of the Riot on its one hundredth anniversary weekend. Historians and authors who will speak during the day include Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, Director of the African American Studies and Research Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and author of America's First Black Town: Brooklyn, Illinois 1830-1915; Anthony Landis, who wrote his Master's thesis on the Springfield Race Riot; noted Lincoln historian Cullom Davis; artist Brian Gillis; and a participant in the ALPLM's Summer Scholars Program, which is developing an on-line exhibit about the Race Riot. Participants will tour the ALPLM's Race Riot exhibit with curator Carole Merritt, and a panel discussion will feature descendants of key players in the riot. All symposium participants will receive a free copy of the book In Lincoln's Shadow: The 1908 Race Riot in Springfield, Illinois by Roberta Senechal de la Roche courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. The symposium will launch a series of three book discussions on Senechal's book being coordinated through Springfield College – Benedictine University. Each discussion will be held in the College's Beata Hall Conference Room and will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The topic for the book discussion on Thursday, August 21 will be "The History: Chronology of the Riot;" on August 28, "The People/Players: Community, Rioters and Victims;" and September 4, "The Aftermath: Retrospective and Reconciliation." A panel of college faculty and local historians and NAACP leaders will lead the discussions. A display by Springfield artist Brian Gillis opens Saturday, August 16 in conjunction with the Race Riot exhibit currently being offered at the Presidential Library. "In 1908…" turns historical sources into artworks that tell the riot's story and coax visitors into becoming witnesses to the event. Sources include maps, arrest records, court proceedings, death records, National Guard documents, and oral histories from people who were around the Springfield area during the 1908 riot. These audio, literal and visual artistic elements help bring a new understanding to this terrible, historic event. "In 1908…" will remain on free display through October 2008. Roberta Senechal de la Roche, author of In Lincoln's Shadow: The 1908 Race Riot in Springfield, Illinois will hold a free book signing and discussion on Thursday, September 11 at 7 p.m. in the Presidential Museum's Union Theater. This lecture and book signing is a continuation of the book discussion begun at the August 16 symposium in partnership with Springfield College-Benedictine University. Reservations are required and may be made at www.PresidentLincoln.org or by calling (217) 558-8934. Civil rights activist Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will speak at 7 p.m. Friday, October 10 at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center. The speech is in conjunction with the NAACP Illinois State Conference. Tickets for non-conference participants are $10 each and may be reserved through www.PresidentLincoln.org or by calling (217) 558-8934. Paula Giddings, author of Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching will hold a free book discussion and signing at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 23 in the Presidential Museum's Union Theater. This event is also part of a book discussion in partnership with Springfield College-Benedictine University begun at the August 16 symposium. Reservations must be made through www.PresidentLincoln.org or by calling (217) 558-8934. The Presidential Library's free exhibit, "Something So Horrible: The Springfield Race Riot of 1908" continues through October 2008. It features original artifacts from the Library's collections as well as those loaned by area citizens and businesses. The Springfield Race Riot began August 14, 1908. Black-owned businesses and homes were destroyed, at least seven people were killed with many more injured, and despite the arrival of the state militia rioting continued until August 16. A total of 117 people were indicted for riot, arson, larceny and murder. However, only two people were punished for the riot. Jolted to action by the Springfield violence, social activists founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the oldest civil rights organization in the nation. ###