New historical marker at Macon Courthouse sheds light on lynchings in Central Illinois

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Walk It Like We Talk It is bringing over a century of history to the present.

According to Macon County Historian, Mark Sorensen, in 1893 Samuel J. Bush was accused of assaulting two white women. As a result of the accusations, a mob of white men removed Bush from his jail cell, and lynched him across the street from the Macon County Courthouse.

"There's at least 27 of these racial lynching's in Illinois over the years and almost none of them but Springfield now have a marker. Most towns wanted everyone to forget about what happened, and so people today have decided that they want someone to remember that happened and this person," said Sorensen.

Decatur-native Dana Thomas, with help from nonprofit Walk It Like We Talk It, and Affordable Activism aims to bring awareness to Bush's story.

"For me it's surreal just because Samuel J. Bush was 30 years old when he was murdered. I'm 28 years old, going to be 29 on June 2nd, which is the day before he was lynched," said Co-Founder and CEO of Walk It Like We Talk It, Dominique Bates-Smith.

Sorensen explained that lynching's like this happened all over Illinois. However, organizations like this are working hard to make sure history isn't forgotten over time.

"To reframe it as though somebody might've deserved vigilante injustice because crimes did get committed, I think that that's a further injustice," said Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia, A.D. Carson.

The historic marker will be unveiled at the courthouse on June 3rd, the 130th anniversary of Bush's death.

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