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3 Hot Days in August

ISM-Springfield
3 hot days in August. A city wide observance of the 1908 Springfield race riot. August 14 through 16, 2025. A Black fire fighter douses the smoldering remains of a home that was attacked in 1908. Reflect. Remember. Reclaim. “3 Hot Days in August” is a powerful, citywide observance honoring the legacy of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot, a pivotal event that helped lead to the founding of the NAACP. Join us for presentations, walking tours, a film screening, and community ceremonies as we reflect, reclaim, and remember history.
Friday, August 15, 2025
09:30 AM to 08:30 PM CDT

We hope you’ll join us as we reckon with the past and work together toward a more just and equitable future.
 

Itinerary for Friday, August 15

9:30 AM - Old State Capitol State Historic Site, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza (Starts at the Lincoln Statues at 6th and Adams)
•IDNR Historic Sites, 1908 Race Riot Walking Tour

1:00 PM – Old State Capitol State Historic Site, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza (Starts at the Lincoln Statues at 6th and Adams)
• IDNR Historic Sites, 1908 Race Riot Walking Tour

2:00 PM – Lincoln Home National Historic Site, 413 S. 8th St.
Featured Presentations:
• Floyd Mansberger, Director of Fever River Research, “Archaeology of Racial Hatred: An Update of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot Site”
• Chris Collins, Superintendent, New Philadelphia National Historic Site, Springfield 1908 Race Riot Monument, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, National Park Service

7:30 PM – Parking garage is available at HSHS St. John's Hospital Women and Children's Clinic, 500 North 9th Street, Springfield, IL. The National Monument is located at 400 North 9th Street. Attendees may walk to the National Monument from the parking garage.

7:45 PM – Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument,400 North 9th Street
Commemoration:
• Joe Crain, Emcee, Director of Public Programs and Community Engagement, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• Dr. Brian Mitchell, Remarks, UIS Lincoln Studies Center / Independent Scholar
• Quinn P. Gilly and Chris Collins, National Park Service
• Evening Remembrance Ceremony


Thank you to our partners:
Springfield Branch NAACP
Springfield African American History Museum
National Park Service
HSHS St. John's Hospital
Illinois State Museum
Illinois State Museum Society
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Fever River Research
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Sangamon Experience
UIS Center for Lincoln Studies
Hanson Professional Services, Inc.

 

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