The Illinois State Museum Society has awarded a team from the University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies and History Department the contract to write the historical content for a permanent exhibit on the 1908 Springfield race riot at the new Springfield Sangamon County Transportation HUB, currently under construction on Ninth Street in downtown Springfield.

Sangamon County selected the Illinois State Museum, with assistance from the Illinois State Museum Society, to lead development of the exhibit. The Illinois State Museum is working with a community advisory committee, exhibit designer Display Dynamics and the UIS team on the project.

UIS will complete the exhibit writing through its Legacy of Resilience Project, a collaboration between the UIS Center for Lincoln Studies and the UIS History Department. Jacob K. Friefeld, director of the UIS Center for Lincoln Studies, and Devin Hunter, associate professor of history, serve as co-project directors. Brian Mitchell, public humanities fellow at the Center for Lincoln Studies and a nationally recognized historian, will serve as the exhibit writer. The project team will also include UIS students who will contribute to the research and development of the exhibit.

“We are currently engaged in new research on the race riot. This gives the exhibit the potential of bringing a fresh perspective to the topic,” Friefeld said. “We prioritize collaborative and reflective practices that will result in a final product that centers the voices of victims, survivors, resisters and hopefully descendants and descendant communities.”

Mitchell said the Legacy of Resilience Project brings a different perspective to interpreting the history of the 1908 race riot.

“The Legacy of Resilience project elevates the African American community in discussions of the race riot,” Mitchell said. “Too often, Black communities are examined through the lens of victimhood. This project views the community through its achievements, industry, genius, strength and resilience.”

The exhibit will examine the causes, impact and lasting legacy of the August 1908 Springfield race riot while highlighting the experiences of Springfield's Black community and the event's importance in the broader history of civil rights and anti-lynching activism.

The August 1908 Springfield race riot erupted after false accusations against two Black men. White mobs attacked Black neighborhoods, killing at least six people, destroying dozens of homes and businesses and displacing many Black residents. The violence helped spur the founding of the NAACP the following year.

Research for the Legacy of Resilience Project began in fall 2024. When complete, the project will create a searchable digital archive, an interactive map and other resources to help the public explore Springfield's Black community before, during and after the race riot.

The project also provides hands-on research opportunities for UIS students. Anna Newby, a recent graduate of the UIS Master of Arts in History program, spent two years conducting research as a graduate research assistant for the Center for Lincoln Studies. The project will continue providing research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.

“Difficult histories allow us to learn from the mistakes of our past, in the hope that we can escape the calamities of the present,” Mitchell said.

The Transportation HUB is scheduled to open in 2027 in downtown Springfield. The state-of-the-art facility will include Springfield’s Amtrak station, a Sangamon Mass Transit District bus transfer station, Greyhound service, a food and beverage option, a parking garage and other public amenities.