The Great Divide

The Springfield race riot of 1908 was an event so disturbing it became the catalyst for the creation of the NAACP. The Illinois State Museum marked the anniversary in the contemporary art exhibition Across the Divide: Remembering the Other.

In 1908 a white mob burned 40 homes in Springfield, destroyed two dozen black-owned businesses and sent thousands of people fleeing for their lives. At least seven people died. In Across the Divide: Reconsidering the Other sixteen contemporary artists created works that confront issues that can divide people. Issues of race, ethnicity, religion, morals, politics, economics.

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