Today, during the 116th anniversary of the Springfield Race Riot, President Biden established the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument in Springfield, IL. The new monument was the site of race riots in 1908 where white mobs killed at least six Black Americans and burned several Black businesses and homes. The riot exemplified the racial tensions in America at the time and helped lead to the establishment of the NAACP the following year. 

The designation will protect 1.57 acres of federal land in Springfield, which will be managed by the National Park Service and contains historic objects that help tell this important story. A special resource study was recently completed of the site which found that it met the criteria for designation, but legislation in Congress to establish the National Monument had been stalled.

The designation marks the President's 6th National Monument established under the Antiquities Act and the 2nd National Monument helping to protect sites related to Civil Rights history, following the designation of the Emmitt Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois last year.