Giving Voice to the Forgotten Victims of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot: The Bessie Black Story

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

On August 14, 1908, racial tensions in Springfield ignited over allegations of the rape of a white woman by a Black man. After two days of rioting, two Black men had been lynched, and 40 dwellings destroyed. As a result of this event, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was established. This poster discusses excavations of House E, occupied by a young Black woman named Bessie Black. The well-preserved contents of a dresser and trunk were recovered, and included personal items and clothing documenting this woman’s life immediately preceding the August 1908 event. Besides documenting a lifestyle contrary to the perception of the “typical” Black occupants burned out of their homes that evening, the excavations have also raised questions as to the decision made that evening by Bessie, whether to stay and fight, or to flee—a decision which ultimately may have saved herlife that night.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2022 SHA Poster Submissions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology