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====The Response from Governor Richard Yates==== In response to the escalating violence, the board of trustees for the Eldorado school reached out to Illinois Governor Richard Yates for protection. The sheriff, however, refused to deputize Black residents to help protect the school and their property, leaving the community vulnerable. In a letter published in the *Inter Ocean* newspaper in Chicago on July 8, 1902, the governor replied, indicating that he was aware of the situation and made promises to protect the school and its members. In the correspondence, Governor Yates noted, "I suggest you return to Eldorado and open your school at the proper time... I will furnish you by telegraph the assurance that I will furnish you and all members of the school with protection." Despite these assurances, the violence and resistance persisted, eventually leading the board to relocate the school to Metropolis. Due to the continued violence, the board voted in August 1902 to relocate the school to Metropolis, Illinois. Despite this decision, the harassment didn't stop. In 1903, the board thanked the governor, the AME Church, and others for their support, but by then, the damage was done. Black residents had left Eldorado, and the school, which had been a beacon of hope for Black education, was eventually demolished in 1994 due to termite infestation. J.D. Alston's legacy is somewhat bittersweet, as he continued to contribute to Black education. He delivered the commencement address at the Frederick Douglass School in Marion, Illinois, in June 1912, and his death certificate lists his occupation as a printer. Yet, the Eldorado Normal and Industrial Institute, which he had worked so hard to establish, could not overcome the entrenched racism in the town.
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