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Statewide: After Lincoln's assassination, (most of) a nation mourned

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Sean Crawford

Published April 15, 2022 at 9:39 AM CDT

The country was shocked when news came of President Lincoln's assassination, 157 years ago this week. But how did people react? An author went through personal letters of the time to get a glimpse into the mood of the public.

And a Black Springfield High School graduate says she was denied her rightful spot as class valedictorian in the 1980s. A new documentary tells her story.

Hear more on this week's Statewide.

This week:

* Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco reports on a political ad that created controversy among environmental activists fighting to preserve an ancient prairie.

* Sean Crawford talks with author Martha Hodes about her book "Mourning Lincoln." She went through personal letters from people at the time the news of Lincoln's assassination became known.

* Peter Medlin finds that some Illinois schools still using Native American mascots are facing more pressure to drop them.

* Robert McGregor, the author of A Calculus of Color: The Integration of Baseball's American League, joins us. April 15 is the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the game's color barrier in the National League.

* Dana Cronin with Harvest Public Media tells us about a new initiative to develop an anti-racist farmer's market toolkit.

* Maureen McKinney brings us the story of a new documentary that tells the story of Tracey Meares, a Springfield High School graduate in 1984. Despite her grades, she was denied serving as class valedictorian.

* Jane Carlson takes us to the groundbreaking of a new library where poetry was in the moment.