New plaque memorializes 1893 lynching of a Black man in Decatur

Vernon Wimberly addresses the crowd on Saturday at the end of the unveiling

Vernon Wimberly addresses the crowd on Saturday at the end of the unveiling ceremony for a historical marker remembering his great-great-uncle Samuel J. Bush, who was lynched at the spot 130 years ago in Decatur.

DECATUR — A long-buried instance of racial terror was brought into the sunlight Saturday as activists and community leaders dedicated a historical marker memorializing the 1893 lynching of Samuel J. Bush at the hands of a mob of white people from Mount Zion.

Bush, a 30-year-old Black man from Mississippi, was accused of assaulting two white women in separate incidents. He was subsequently found on a farm in Moultrie County and taken to the Macon County Jail.

Amid rumors of a possible lynching, three well-known Black citizens, including the city's only Black lawyer, had offered to guard the suspect while he was in custody. Then-Macon County Sheriff Peter Perl turned down their offer, saying his deputies could handle any situation that might arise, according to an account from Macon County Historian Mark Sorensen.

In the jail, Bush wrote letters to family members asking to send money for a lawyer. He said he had asked the women for food and water, but did not assault anyone.

Bush never got the chance to defend himself. In the early morning hours of June 3, 1893, an angry mob from Mount Zion, then considered a "sundown town," stormed into the jail as the sheriff's deputies charged with protecting Bush stood idly by.

The mob dragged Bush to the northeast corner of Wood and Water streets. There, according to newspaper accounts, he knelt and prayed for "Jesus to come and take his soul and forgive the men who were murdering him."

The vigilantes then forced a naked Bush on top of a carriage and hanged him from a utility pole. It took 12 minutes for Bush to die. After the awful deed was done, pieces of the rope used to hang Bush were distributed to the estimated 1,500 people in the crowd as keepsakes.

Despite outrage at the mob action, including from then-Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld, a grand jury refused to bring charges upon the ringleaders who orchestrated the crime.

For a long time, this history has not been spoken or taught.

But, standing just feet away from where the crime took place exactly 130 years ago, another crowd gathered outside the courthouse on Saturday.

A crowd gathers on Saturday at the northwest corner of the Macon County Courthouse for the unveiling of the Samuel J. Bush historical marker 130 years after he was lynched at the spot in Decatur.

About 75 people, including several Decatur activists and community leaders, vowed to never forget what took place there years ago and to keep pushing forward in the march for racial justice.

"This marker, to my mind, is not the end. It isn't the goal. It won't solve a problem," said A.D. Carson, a Decatur native and professor at the University of Virginia. "It's here to remind us that there is a problem and that we're living with it. It's here to prompt us to ask ourselves, our communities and our elected officials, how do we live with it? How will we live with it with expectations of real responses because we are definitely still living with it."

The historical marker, on the northwest corner of the Macon County Courthouse lawn, is the fourth in Macon County and the first not relating to former President Abraham Lincoln.

Sorensen, speaking on behalf of the Illinois State Historical Society, said it is the first marker in the state dealing with racial terror lynchings. He said there are 27 known incidents in state history.

The marker comes after more than three years of organizing by Decatur activist groups Affordable Activism and Walk It Like We Talk It. The groups picked up the ball from others after several years of false starts.

Affordable Activism founder Dana Thomas points to the location directly across the street where Samuel J. Bush was lynched exactly 130 years ago. An unveiling ceremony was held on Saturday for a historical marker in Decatur. The installment was organized by Affordable Activism, Walk It Like We Talk It, and the Illinois State Historical Society.

"With all things COVID and reflecting on Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Breonna, Taylor, George Floyd and countless others, I felt like I wasn't doing enough," said Dana Thomas, a Decatur nurse and founder of Affordable Activism. "And I wanted to do something about it. I thought, at least, I could get a historical marker for Mr. Bush."

Thomas first reached out to the Equal Justice Initiative, a national organization that challenges racial and economic injustice and often funds such historical markers.

But, amid the protests that were unleashed following Floyd's murder in 2020, the group had been "inundated with requests" and it became clear that they would miss the 130-year anniversary if going through that channel.

So, Thomas reached out to other groups. The first one that offered to help "without hesitation" was Walk It Like We Talk It.

Keynote speaker A.D. Carson addresses the crowd on Saturday at the northwest corner of the Macon County Courthouse for the unveiling of the Samuel J. Bush historical marker 130 years after Bush was publicly lynched at the spot in Decatur.

After jumping through necessary hoops, including getting approval from Macon County Presiding Judge Thomas Griffith to place the marker on the courthouse grounds and finalizing its language, they met their deadline.

The plaque, which cost nearly $4,000, is being funded through a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and a GoFundMe effort. Thomas said they still hope to work with the Equal Justice Initiative to fund efforts to educate people about what happened to Bush, along with college scholarships.

"We absolutely need to connect this with having the proper education..." Thomas said. "That nobody was ever taught about this that I have ever spoken to is ridiculous."

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe, city manager Scot Wrighton and council members David Horn and Pat McDaniel were present on behalf of the city. The mayor read a proclamation declaring June 3 "Samuel J. Bush Remembrance Day" in Decatur.

Moore Wolfe handed the proclamation to Thomas, who then handed it off to Vernon Wimberly, Bush's great-great nephew, who flew in from Jacksonville, Florida, for the ceremony.

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe talks to Vernon Wimberly on Saturday after the unveiling ceremony for a historical marker remembering Wimberly's great-great-uncle Samuel J. Bush, who was lynched at the spot exactly 130 years ago, in Decatur. Moore Wolfe signed a proclamation declaring June 3 Samuel J. Bush Remembrance Day.

In a touching moment, Wimberly — holding the proclamation — said, "Mayor, I accept this as an apology. Should I?" Moore Wolfe nodded her head. "I accept that because that is the only thing I'm here for," he continued.

"You can give all kinds of dedications, all kinds of accolades, but until someone accepts an apology, it's unheard of," Wimberly told the Herald & Review after the event. "So a public apology was critical. It was the most critical thing that I could ask for. And it touched close to the heart."

Wimberly, who lived in Decatur for nearly 30 years and learned more about his ancestor through doing research at the African-American Cultural & Genealogical Society of Illinois Museum, assured those in the audience that "these are not the tears of sorrow."

"There is no sorrow here. What's here is joy," Wimberly said.

But, the activists gathered said memorializing Bush is just the beginning. In addition to acknowledging the horrors of the past, they also want to mark the good things that have have happened.

And they says there's still far more work to be done on the road to justice.

"This is a call to action behind the scenes for marching," Thomas said. "I got a garage full of picket signs and megaphones. I'm good at that. But my mind is blown that it is done and I'm just eternally grateful. I'm overwhelmed, I am happy, I am sad, I want to weep."

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New plaque memorializes 1893 lynching of a Black man in Decatur