"DRAGGED FROM HER BED AND OUTRAGED BY NEGRO"
One month later, on August 14, unsuspecting readers of the Illinois State
Journal opened their eyes to a shocking headline screaming, "DRAGGED
FROM HER BED AND OUTRAGED BY NEGRO." The readers were again faced with
the story of a "heinous crime" that had been committed the night
before. Mabel Hallam, the twenty-one year old wife of a respectable city
street car conductor, was allegedly snatched from her peaceful sleep and
sexually assaulted by a black fiend. The outraged Hallam identified her
attacker as George Richardson, a caretaker who worked odd jobs in the her
neighborhood. By Friday, August 14, two blacks sat in jail, Joe James and
George Richardson both accused and assumed to have raped white women. The
local newspaper continued practicing "yellow journalism" stirring
up the people of Springfield against the black community.
This page was created by Deepak Madala, Jennifer Jordan, and August
Appleton