Old Negro saving few articles after mob violence. Many went destitute + homeless

A black-and-white photographic postcard of an elderly man gathering possessions after the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois. The man is depicted in the center of the image, outside of what appears to be a residential structure, amid a scattering of furniture, clothing, and other domestic objects. The man holds a small drawer of possessions in his proper left hand, against his proper left hip. In front of him is what appears to be dresser drawers stacked in the grass and full of tangled pieces of clothing and an upturned chair. Behind him, a small table piled with more random belongings and a chair sit in front of a tree. To the right side of the image, closer to the street, is a larger table with cookware and other items on it. In front of the table, standing in the street, are two white men, both looking towards the camera. The men are dressed in dark pants, jackets, and hats. The scene is in front of a single story dwelling with wooden siding, an open doorway, and two shutter-less windows. Written in white at the bottom of the image is [Old negro saving few articles after mob violence, many were destitute and homeless]. There is a small, round loss in the left side of the photograph, top center.

The postcard is unused and has a divided back with a space marked as [CORRESPONDENCE HERE] and a space marked as [NAME AND ADDRESS HERE]. The postcard is printed on AZO paper, with an AZO stamp mark in the upper right corner of the back. A handwritten inscription in graphite along the top of the back reads [Old Negro saving few articles after mob violence most went destitute and homeless. (SPRINGFIELD RACE RIOT ILL.)].

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Released by the Smithsonian Institution under CC0 through Smithsonian Open Access.

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