“The Untold Stories of American Race Riots”

The Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum held a screening of I Bear Witness: The Untold Stories of American Race Riots on Saturday, Sept. 19. Tiffany Lee, an educator, historian, cultural preservationist and Illinois Humanities Road Scholar, is the producer and co-director and was on hand for a discussion with the audience.

The film centered on in-depth scholarly research and first-person narratives of African Americans who lived through the unfathomable realities of race riots. One of the main things that attendees took away was the way in which race riots are often contextualized. People tend to talk about one specific account, but through this film and Lee’s teachings, the audience gained the perspective of the riots being nationwide terrorists acts that occurred for more than a century.

“To this point, I compiled first-person narratives from several locations, but if you listen closely, when spoken together, they can be describing a single night of riots,” said Lee.

The event also included an interactive segment where attendees read print outs of different first-person narratives. Two were Red-Nixon-ESTL and Yellow-Ballard-ESTL, archival stories from the Ida B. Wells Barnett Interviews that were compiled as part of Lee’s research to obtain the first-hand accounts of victims.

Lee asked thought-provoking questions to the audience regarding the narratives and lived experiences. These included why victims may have stayed even though their house was burning down, how many African Americans had to leave with nothing but the clothing on their backs, and reflecting on the families who were momentarily or permanently separated.

Both Lee and audience members emphasized the reality of starting over for African American families who may have been building up their lives, and within hours, everything they knew and owned had been destroyed. Lee said she finds it essential to get first-hand knowledge of the victims and to feel the emotional weight of what it meant to leave.

A core theme from the audience was the defying of erasure that Lee’s film combats.

“It’s important for central Illinois, southern Illinois and northern Illinois. Our state has been severely affected by racial violence, and we need to understand that,” said Lee. “We must learn about our history, we must know from which we come, because that will help us to create a better future.”

She further explained that there are many parallels during the time that race riots were rampant to what is going on today in America.

Attendees carried this same sentiment. “I found it fascinating to learn about my history –our history. It was very informative, things that I didn’t know. And, I will be furthering my education on it,” said one of the attendees, who is a Springfield native.

Another attendee, Travis McCullough, expressed that there were many things he didn’t know, especially regarding the East St. Louis riots.

“I believe that it’s important, because it not only shares our stories, as a community, as a collective, but it also allows us to have that voice, and not allow others to minimize or dictate how our stories are told,” he said.

While the event explored a horrific and deeply complex topic, it was rooted in community, understanding and a path forward.