September 21, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 163 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages H4566-H4567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SPRINGFIELD RACE RIOT STUDY ACT

  Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 139) to establish the Springfield Race Riot National 
Historic Monument in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 139

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Springfield Race Riot Study 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. RESOURCE STUDY OF SPRINGFIELD RACE RIOT.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (2) Study area.--The term ``study area'' means the 
     archeological site near Madison Street and the 10th Street 
     Rail Corridor, and other sites in Springfield, Illinois 
     associated with the 1908 Springfield Race Riot.
       (b) Special Resource Study.--
       (1) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource 
     study of the study area.
       (2) Contents.--In conducting the study under paragraph (1), 
     the Secretary shall--
       (A) evaluate the national significance of the study area;
       (B) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
     designating the study area as a unit of the National Park 
     System;
       (C) consider other alternatives for preservation, 
     protection, and interpretation of the study area by the 
     Federal Government, State or local government entities, or 
     private and nonprofit organizations;
       (D) consult with interested Federal agencies, State or 
     local governmental entities, private and nonprofit 
     organizations, or any other interested individuals; and
       (E) identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition, 
     development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance 
     associated with the alternatives.
       (3) Applicable law.--The study required under paragraph (1) 
     shall be conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 
     54, United States Code.
       (4) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
     funds are first made available for the study under paragraph 
     (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural 
     Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
     on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that 
     describes--
       (A) the results of the study; and
       (B) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New Mexico (Ms. Haaland) and the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New Mexico.


                             General Leave

  Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New Mexico?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 139, the Springfield Race 
Riot Study Act, introduced by Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois.
  In August 1908, Springfield, Illinois, was the site of a multiday 
riot, with violence directed at the African-American community.
  The mob shot innocent people, burned almost 50 homes, looted and 
destroyed two dozen stores, and mutilated and lynched two elderly Black 
men who were merely innocent bystanders.

                              {time}  1300

  All of this violence came about because two other African-American 
men were wrongly accused; one accused of attacking a White woman who, 
not long after the riots, admitted that her attacker was a White man; 
and one accused on slight evidence of attacking a White girl and of 
murdering her father.
  In part, as a response to the riot, the NAACP was formed in 1909 to 
work to end segregation, discrimination, and ensure African Americans 
are provided their constitutional rights.
  This was the one bright light that emerged out of that dark moment in 
our history, and it is an origin story that certainly resonates today 
as the Nation continues to grapple with race relations and social 
justice.
  This bill will authorize the National Park Service to conduct a full, 
special resource study to determine the most appropriate method to 
preserve, interpret, and protect the resources associated with the riot 
and the founding of the NAACP.
  I want to thank Representative Davis for his efforts on this bill, 
and I urge all of my colleagues to support its adoption.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 139, the Springfield Race Riot Study Act, which was 
sponsored by our colleague, Congressman Rodney Davis, authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the 
site of the Springfield race riots of 1908.
  As my colleague has just described, on the evening of August 14, 
1908, racial tensions ignited in the Illinois capital of Springfield. 
The riot was incited by a White mob who wanted to lynch two Black 
inmates housed at the county jail. One had been charged with murdering 
a White man, the other with raping a White woman, an allegation that 
was later recanted.
  After the two inmates were spirited away for their safety, the mob 
destroyed Black neighborhoods and lynched two innocent Black men. Soon 
after this horrific weekend of violence and racial strife, a prominent 
group of social reformers came together in February 1909 and 
established the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People.

[[Page H4567]]

  Recently, archeologists uncovered the physical remains of five houses 
and their associated artifacts that burned in the 1908 riot. Last year, 
the National Park Service completed a reconnaissance survey of the site 
and concluded it was likely the site that would meet criteria for 
inclusion in the National Park System if fully analyzed through a 
congressionally authorized special resources study.
  In August, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt visited the site 
of the 1908 riot to declare it part of the recently established African 
American Civil Rights Network. One goal of this network is to ensure 
that we accurately tell the complete and often painful story of the 
struggle for civil rights in our country.
  I commend Representative Davis on his work to highlight this tragic 
event in our Nation's history. I urge adoption of the measure, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Takano). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Haaland) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 139, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of 
the site associated with the 1908 Springfield Race Riot in the State of 
Illinois.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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