A group including National Park Service representatives visited the site of the uncovered foundations of five homes that had been burned during the 1908 race riots in Springfield, Illinois, April 17, 2019. Photo by June Stricker/Hanson Professional Services Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 16, 2024
Contact: Darrel Berry, Corporate Communications Manager
Hanson Professional Services Inc.
(217) 747-9291
dberry@hanson-inc.com
White House designates 1908 race riot site a national monument
President Joe Biden, by invoking the Antiquities Act, has designated the 1908 race riot site in Springfield, Illinois, a national monument.
The U.S. Department of the Interior hosted a June 10, 2024, meeting at Union Baptist Church in Springfield to hear the public’s support for the race riot site to be designated a national monument. Photo by June Stricker/Hanson Professional Services Inc.
The proclamation, signed during the 116th commemoration of the race riot, creates the first national monument to focus on the tragic events of race riots and the first national monument to tell the story of NAACP co-founder Ida B. Wells-Barnett. The Springfield race riot led to the formation of the NAACP. On June 10, the U.S. Department of the Interior hosted a meeting at Union Baptist Church in the city to hear the public’s support for the designation. Hundreds of people attended the event. Members of Congress also promoted legislation to make the site a national monument. In June 2023, the National Park Service found that the site met the criteria to be eligible for inclusion in the National Park System.
At least eight people were killed and dozens of Black-owned businesses and homes were destroyed in the two-day riot that started Aug. 14, 1908, after a mob of thousands of white people gathered at the Sangamon County Jail intending to lynch two Black men held there — Joe James, accused of murdering a white man and George Richardson, accused of raping a white woman — became angered that they had been moved to a jail 60 miles north in Bloomington, Illinois.
Sergio Pecori
“We need to remember the past, so that we can learn from it — and not repeat it,” said Sergio “Satch” Pecori, chairman and CEO of Hanson Professional Services Inc. “This designation will make it possible to increase awareness and education about this terrible time in history, bring healing to the community and add historic value to the NAACP.”
In 2014, the Hanson team, led by Chief Environmental Scientist Kevin Seals and including Fever River Research of Springfield, looked for buried historical items in portions of the 10th Street rail corridor, where right of way had been purchased for the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, to meet a commitment in an environmental impact statement prepared by the city of Springfield and approved by the Federal Railroad Administration. The search unearthed the remains of brick foundations of seven pre-1870s homes just north of Madison Street that previously were documented in this area. Five of these homes had been destroyed by fire during the race riot. Items including general household goods from the 1800s and early 1900s, such as glassware and dishware, were also discovered.
Kevin Seals
“Since the discovery of the 1908 race riot archaeological site over 10 years ago as part of Springfield’s railroad relocation project, we have become more aware that these tragic events cannot occur in our country,” Seals said. “It has been an honor for Hanson to play a role in this project, and we are so grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for recognizing the significance of this event so that this national monument will allow us all to pay tribute to these victims and begin the process of healing from this tragedy.”
Hanson was selected by the city to provide design, land acquisition, construction engineering and project management services for the Springfield Rail Improvements Project. A committee that included the city, Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS), the NAACP and Hanson, in conjunction with RDG Planning & Design, have conceptually designed a memorial for the race riot that will be installed in the area of the discovered burned home foundations, on land donated by the city and HSHS. The memorial would include interpretive walls and panels surrounded by landscaping, intended to offer visitors a place to reflect on the events, help heal and pay tribute to the victims.
Hanson is a national, employee-owned consulting firm providing engineering, planning and allied services. The firm’s corporate headquarters is located at 1525 S. Sixth St., Springfield, IL 62703. The office may be reached by phone at (217) 788-2450.
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