The Archaeology of Racial Hatred: Springfield, Illinois

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

On August 14, 1908, racial tensions ignited over allegations of the rape of a white woman by a black man. After being thwarted in their attempt to take justice into their own hands, a crowd erupted into violence resulting in two days of rioting, and the lynching of two black men. Incensed by the fact that this event had taken place in the hometown of the Great Emancipator Abraham Lincoln, a group of social reformers came together in February 1909 and established the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Archaeological testing in 2014 resulted in the discovery of five well-preserved mid-nineteenth century houses destroyed by fire that August weekend. Archaeological mitigation in 2019 resulted in new insights into the structure of this particular neighborhood at the turn-of-the century, and the quality of life of the inhabitants that experienced firsthand this historical event and called this neighborhood home.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• 2020 SHA Poster Submissions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1007