Photographic postcard of militiamen guarding destroyed structures

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A black-and-white photographic postcard of militiamen guarding destroyed buildings after the Springfield race riot. Two state militiamen stand on guard in front of a low fence beside a large brick building that is mostly destroyed by rioters in Springfield, Illinois. Rubble is strewn along the ground between the structure and the train tracks at the fore of the scene. Tall trees stand out from behind the building, on the left side of the image, and smaller, damaged trees are visible on the right side, obscuring views of train cars behind them. In the far-right distance are electrical poles, and the high, narrow dome of what appears to be part of the Springfield capital building. Inscribed in black ink at the bottom center and bottom right of the image is “POST / PHOTO / SPRINGFIELD RACE WAR / AUG.’ 08”.

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