Wednesday, October 29, 2008

UIS Diversity Center to host traveling exhibit "Summer of Hate"

The Diversity Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield will host the traveling exhibit "Summer of Hate: A Modern Perspective on the Springfield Race Riot of 1908," from November 3 through 21 in the Center, room 22 of the Student Life Building on the east side of the UIS campus.

Ken Page, president of the Springfield branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will unveil the exhibit during an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. on November 3 in the Center. Both the exhibit and opening reception are free and open to the public.

Commemorating the centennial anniversary of the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, the 14-panel exhibit includes photographs, maps, and historical accounts of the violence that resulted in the deaths of six people and the destruction of dozens of homes and businesses and led to the founding of the NAACP.

Area high school students researched and created the exhibit with assistance from staff members at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. After researching the riot using historical materials in the Presidential Library, the students toured Springfield to pinpoint key riot locations, gather modern and historical images, and create maps.

"It is my hope that events such as this exhibit will translate into positive action that will last one hundred years," Page said.

For more information, contact the UIS Diversity Center at 217/206-6333 or e-mail diversitycenter@uis.edu.