Springfield, Illinois race riot of 1908

[Louis Proyect]

Springfield's two prominent claims, one positive and one negative, to
national recognition are the home of Abraham Lincoln and the infamous 1908
race riot. While Lincoln has been immortalized in buildings, holidays, and
statues, there has been very little done to preserve the memory of the 1908
race riot. This web page will help tell the history of this painful event,
and show its connection with the creation of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

By the turn of the century, Springfield, Illinois was no longer the small
town in which Abraham Lincoln lived, but a growing industrial center. The
population of Springfield had grown at an alarming rate; it had nearly
doubled since the last shot of the Civil War was heard in 1865. The numbers
of people moving into Springfield increased faster than the creation of new
jobs. The new workers added more tension to an already tight job market.
The southern blacks emigrants and new European immigrants vied with white
workers for factory and coal mining jobs. Blacks were, in some instances,
brought in as scabs (replacements for striking laborers). Springfield had
the largest percentage of blacks of any comparable city in Illinois. This
fierce competition for jobs created an enormous amount of strife between
the established white population and the new influx of blacks. 

During the miserably hot summer of 1908, the racial tension heightened. On
the night of Independence Day, 1908, Clergy Ballard, a respectable mining
engineer, had his home broken into. He was awakened from his sleep by some
unfamiliar noises in his home. When investigating, he saw a stranger at the
bedside of his young innocent daughter. The intruder, upon discovery ran
out of the house. Ballard gave chase and caught the assailant who,
unfortunately for Ballard, had a straight razor and slashed Ballard's
throat. Clergy Ballard died the next morning from wounds received that
horrible night. 

The people of Springfield were led by the press to believe that the crime
was a thwarted sexual assault attempt. The public was outraged by the
ugliness of the crime. Before Clergy Ballard died he managed to identify
the assailant as a Joe James, a local black man with a long police record
of minor criminal offenses. He was later caught by a band of angry whites
and beaten unconscious. The police rescued James from the crowd and carted
him off to jail for murder and attempted rape. 

Then the sheriff announced that the crowd might as well disperse because
the men that they wanted were no longer in the jail. This apparently
enraged the crowd and that's where the violent trouble began. Under the
leadership of a few inspiring individuals like Kate Howard, a local rooming
house owner who was notorious for her hatred of blacks, the crowd moved
from the county jail down to Harry Loper's restaurant when it learned that
his car was used in the escape plot. The crowd stalled at the sight of
Harry Loper standing in the doorway with his rifle, but after he left by
the back door the mob preceded to trash and destroy his stylish restaurant.
They consumed the liquor, broke plate glassed windows, demolished the
interior, and torched his five thousand dollar automobile. 

The local authorities attempted to control the crowd, but were overwhelmed
and outnumbered. Mayor Roy Reece of Springfield was forced into hiding by
threats from the angry crowd. Fortunately for Springfield, Governor Charles
Dedeen was in town and promptly activated the State militia. The crowd,
however, was still on the move. Levee Destroyed

Urged on by shouts of "Women desire protection and this seems the only way
to get it" the mob's intent had changed from the original purpose of
seeking their own form of justice to clearing the entire town of blacks.
Now the crowd headed toward the black commercial section of the city called
the Levee where they broke into Fishman's pawn shop, a Jewish owned
business, and stole weapons that would in the near future destroy many
businesses, homes, and dreams. The mob now possessing guns, ammunition, and
ropes, moved through the Levee, destroying all black businesses that were
in sight. The violent crowd destroyed two or three blocks of the Levee.
After having laid waste to a number of Negro established businesses in
Springfield the mob then moved north heading toward the black residential
section known as the Badlands. 

On the way, however, a section of the angry crowd encountered the first
resistance when they confronted a black barber named Scott Burton. When he
saw the mob approach, Burton decided to protect his property and stood in
the doorway with a shotgun. The mob wanted to destroy the barber shop
because it was owned by a black man and because he had a white wife, but
they did not want to get killed themselves. Out of fear Burton fired a
blast of buckshot into the crowd. The crowd returned the fire and Burton
was killed. His barber shop was burned and his body was paraded from his
porch to a place several blocks away where it was hanged from a tree
outside a saloon. Burton's corpse became the symbol of the mob's hatred of
blacks and was riddled by bullets until the militia came and put a stop to
that action. 

But then the mob then moved on to the black residential area of
Springfield. Rioters set fire to the houses of blacks avoiding only the
homes with white handkerchiefs tied outside which signified they were homes
owned or inhabited by whites. When firemen arrived, the crowd hindered
their progress and even cut their hoses. It was estimated that a crowd of
nearly 12,000 people had gathered to watch the Badlands burn. Black
families were forced to run to surrounding towns or find refuge within the
hostile city. Some blacks found safety with white people they knew, others
went to the State Armory, and still others tried just to get out of town.
Those that went to surrounding towns were met by signs that read, "All
Niggers are warned out of town by Monday, 12 Sharp!". By midnight some
national guard units arrived and dispersed the mob and the violence ended
for Friday night. 

On Saturday there was a troubled sort of peace, but at the same time mass
migrations of people out of and into of the city was taking place. Fleeing
out of Springfield were an estimated two or three thousand Negro residents.
A fair number never did return. Those who fled went on foot, on horse back,
by truck, and or by train. Some blacks found sanctuary at Camp Lincoln and
the State Arsenal. The State Arsenal was the State headquarters of the
National Guard and this was where a good number of soldiers were stationed.
In addition to that mass exodus of people out of town there were two
distinct groups coming into Springfield. Curiosity seekers and tourists
arrived because many of the state's newspapers carried the news of the race
riots in headline fashion. The other group consisted of some five thousand
troops of the Illinois National Guard who were brought here from various
communities throughout the state and were eventually able to restore order
in the Capitol. They were stationed around Springfield and headquartered at
the State Arsenal. It was amazing that they were able to get organized and
began to control the crowd as fast as they did late Friday and early
Saturday.  Prominent Resident Killed

However, the peace ended on Saturday evening. A mob gathered once again at
the Old Court House Building and then began to move in the direction of the
State Arsenal Building. A small group attempted to enter the State Arsenal
where displaced blacks were being housed. The group was stopped by a
militia guard, but the mob merely changed direction and proceeded to march
across the capitol grounds and headed for the home of William Donnegan. He
was an elderly long time resident of Springfield. Donnegan was eighty-four
years old and a cobbler by trade; a respected resident of the community who
owned his own home outside the Badlands and also owned some adjacent
properties which were occupied by members of his family. He was known to be
a friend and the cobbler of Abraham Lincoln. Donnegan made a small fortune
bringing southern blacks to Springfield to find jobs. He had never been
accused of a crime. He had however, broken the unwritten mores of being
married to a white woman for the last thirty-two years. The mob approached
Donnegan's home. When he came out to find what they were up to, they
grabbed him, cut his throat, dragged his body across the street, and
lynched him in the Edwards School yard. He was still alive when the
national guard cut him down, but he died early the next morning. This
lynching was the last mob action of the riot.  Conclusion

By Sunday morning, much of Springfield laid in ruins. On Sunday more
national guard troops arrived and in general the day was peaceful. The
official death total was reported to be seven, two blacks and five
accidental whites. It was rumored that there many more deaths as a result
of the riot. Property damage was in excess of $200,000. Forty homes were
destroyed and others were damaged while twenty-four businesses were forced
to close their doors either temporarily or permanently.

Immediately after the riot, city officials expressed deep regret for the
mob's actions and called for swift justice. The call for justice was left
unanswered as the 107 indictments returned by the special grand jury
granted only one conviction and that was for someone who stole a saber from
one of guards. The murderers of Scott Burton and William Donnegan were left
unpunished as were the arsonists who set fire to the homes in the Badlands.
Kate Howard, one of the ringleaders of the mob, decided to commit suicide
rather to face charges. Mabel Hallam later told the authorities she made up
the story about being raped in order to cover up an affair she was having.
George Richardson was therefore released from jail, but Joe James was tried
and convicted of the murder of Clergy Ballard. 

The Springfield Race Riot of 1908 was sparked by Mabel Hallam's false
accusation and fueled by economic and racial tensions already brewing in
the black and white communities. This riot also marked the last conflict
between the races when the black people did not rise up as a group to
defend themselves. As a possible result of the riots in the Great
Emancipator's home town, an integrated group of concerned citizens gathered
in the Big Apple, New York City. This group was seeking a solution to the
growing problems between the blacks and the whites in America. How could a
city that prided itself on the home of the man who set the slaves free also
try to run blacks out of their town? If this could happen in Springfield,
Illinois it could happen anywhere in the United States. Something had to be
done. This idea gave rise to the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP). Today as the most influential civil rights
organization, it continues to strive for the civil liberties of African
Americans. 


Louis Proyect

(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)