The fact that Springfield's two principal claims to historical recognition produced opposite reactions may explain why they have spent so much time and energy preserving the memory of Lincoln and erasing or at least slighting the memory of the riot. Our most famous resident is remembered in restored buildings, bronze tablets, statues and solemn holidays, but there are no memorials for our most infamous event. It is painful, and some would say unnecessary, for a proud and progressive community to acknowledge such a tragic event.

It had powerful and lasting repercussions locally, and also important consequences in Illinois and the Nation. One of its immediate effects was to spur civil rights leaders and serve as their rallying cause in founding the NAACP.