A race riot broke out in Springfield in 1908. It should be recognized with a national monument.

In 2009, the Illinois NAACP, the City of Springfield and the State of Illinois unveiled a large bronze sculpture commemorating the 1908 Springfield race riot. The sculpture is covered with scenes taken from vintage photographs of the event. (AP file)

President Joe Biden’s designation of a national monument to honor Emmett Till, the Black teen who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, is a stark reminder of the dehumanization that can occur in America. For the well-being of our nation, such actions must be recognized.

The reality of living in a divided America — torn by racial, economic, and political divides — persists, erasing parts of our history that are uncomfortable or untenable. We forget that we share one history and are “one nation under God.”