Black History Month 2025

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Springfield Race Riot of 1908



Springfield, Illinois - Thousands of local and immigrant whites attacked and killed Black Americans. The violence lasted 2 days and was only stopped with the state militia.

Two (2) Black American men were accused of attempted rape of two white women. Word spread and a mob formed to lynch the Black American men. When the white mob learned the men had been transferred out of the city, the violence began. Whites killed random Black Americans, burned homes, destroyed businesses and private property. The white mob attacked any who sympathized with Black Americans.

This event helped start a movement for civil rights groups in the United States.


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