Biden to designate 1908 Springfield race riot site as national monument

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to sign a proclamation Friday to designate a national monument at the Springfield, Illinois, site of the 1908 race riot, which later fueled the formation of the NAACP.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday that the ceremony will be held Friday in the Oval Office and will feature civil rights leaders and community leaders from Springfield, President Abraham Lincoln’s hometown.

The ceremony comes just 5 1/2 weeks after the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by a white sheriff’s deputy in her Springfield home after she called 911 for help. Massey’s family members and supporters gathered Wednesday for a news conference in a continuing quest to see that justice is done in prosecuting the deputy, Sean Grayson, who is charged with first-degree murder in her death.

“People are starting to take notice because it is an untold story,” Teresa Haley, former president of the Springfield NAACP, said of the riot. “It’s a deep, dark, dirty secret that Springfield is scared of.”.

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