The 1908 Race Riot – In August of 1908 Springfield was besieged by a three day race riot that left two neighborhoods burned, destroyed and smoldering for days. Over forty homes and businesses were destroyed, black citizens were forced to hide or flee town for their safety, and two black men were hung in the streets, perhaps a third. Other black men were found shot dead. On this 3-hour tour we’ll stop at each of the 8 historical markers where significant events took place, we’ll stop at the Badlands archaeological site of several “colored” owned homes that were burned and where the heaviest rioting took place. You’ll also view a number of historical photos of the riot in the aftermath. Learn the socio-economic and political genesis of the riot and how it unfolded and how it was ultimately put down. We’ll discuss the rioters, their confessions and how they got away with murder by sympathetic judges and juries and disappearing witnesses. And we’ll talk about the ongoing hardships black families faced post riot trying to put their lives back together.  As time allows we can also visit the graves of the two martyred black men. However, as tragic as this riot was it did serve as the catalyst for the formation of the NAACP. This tour is the only option for a complete history of the infamous riot.