Springfield race riots remembered in recent lecture

October 29, 2008
By Michael Omenazu
Staff Writer

A dinner reception held in the Public Affairs Center seated both men and women of various ethnicities. Blacks and whites congregated together to listen to Roberta Senechal’s lecture rregarding the Springfield race riots
of 1908.

The audience illustrated diversity in various aspects, as it featured not only students, faculty, and community members but also members of the Association for Integrated Studies from 26 states, the District of Colombia,
and foreign countries.

The theme of integration was emphasized not only by the attendees, but in the program’s intent. The event was one of many of the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series discussing Springfield’s centennial race riots.

Roberta Senechal, Associate Professor of History at Washington and Lee University, began her lecture by providing a brief history of the tragic events that forever changed racial relations locally and nationally.

The black business district in the city, made up of 20 shops, was destroyed along with the deaths of two black males, four whites, and 50 hospitalizations. Entire neighborhoods suffered as 40 homes were burned. This is particularly true of the Badlands, northeast of downtown, which
created a population of refugees.

Author of In Lincoln’s Shadow: The 1908 Race Riot In Springfield Illinois, Senechal highlighted the irony of racially motivated violence in Springfield
by pointing out these acts happened in the hometown of Abraham Lincoln, the president who emancipated slaves.

Media response to the aggression was subjected to ignorant thinking, refusing to admit the conflict was the consequence of racial tensions. Southerners commented on the transgressions by stating that interracial problems and anti-black sentiment was a national conflict.

Senechal’s research included an attempt to learn more about rioters and victims. Her efforts resulted in finding around 200 names of people involved and, accordingly, she was able to create a profile of those involved on both sides. She concluded that average rioter was a single white male in his mid 20’s.

Most were native born Americans, specifically from central Illinois, contrary to popular belief which held the notion those perpetrating the violence were immigrants. Riot membership was selective as most had ties to alleged victims of the actions that precipitated the riot. Most were either friends, friends of friends, neighbors or relatives.

Those who endured the attack were African-Americans who enjoyed visible success, thus considered by some to be socially dangerous. This was illustrated in the assaults being held in the black business districts.

At the time many blacks were experiencing upward social mobility, holding specific jobs and having political representation. Ironically, the riots attempt to eliminate these benefits actually resulted in progress in these areas as the 1908 Race Riot led to the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization created to ensure and protect the rights and advantages of blacks.

Roberta Senechal’s informative lecture brought light to an event that is considered to be one of the darkest in Springfield’s history and also rarely remembered. Dr. Karen Moranski, commented on the speech by stating it was as “a practice of awareness and diversity and Senechal’s work fits
into that theme.”

According to Moranski, “students are able to take away a greater understanding of history as they learn more about where they are.” She viewed the address as “an answer to alienation and racial aggression because not only does it educate those in attendance, but it brings together people of all types and backgrounds.”