Ceremony held to mark designation of Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - A ceremony marking the designation of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument was held Wednesday.

Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Tammy Duckworth and officials from the Department of the Interior were all in attendance.

The ceremony was held on Wednesday, October 9, at 5:30 p.m.

On August 16, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation designating the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument.

The new national monument tells the story of an attack by a white mob on a Black community that happened just blocks away from President Abraham Lincoln’s home. It spurred a national focus on civil rights, including the creation of the organization now known as the NAACP.