Biden signs order to establish 1908 Springfield race riot monument as he looks to burnish legacy

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has signed a proclamation to establish a national monument to commemorate the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Ill. The riot was a seminal moment in the United States’ difficult history with racial violence targeting Black people.  The two-day riot was sparked by mobs of white residents tearing through Illinois’ capital city under the pretext of meting out judgment against two Black men — one jailed on a sexual assault charge involving a white woman, and the other jailed in the separate murder of a white man. Biden was joined on Friday by lawmakers as well as civil rights and community leaders as he signed the proclamation establishing the monument on 1.57 acres of federal land.