Freedom Suits Memorial Statue Unveiling Ceremony Program

Collection

Identifier: A3274

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The program is a folio brochure with a rough sketch of one portion of the statue on its cover, the order of service for the unveiling ceremony, a list of patrons, and a QR code for donations to the Freedom Suits Memorial Project through the St. Louis Bar Foundation on the website of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (www.bamsl.org).

Dates

2022

Creator

Freedom Suits Memorial Steering Committee (Saint Louis, Mo.) (Author, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Historical Sketch

The Freedom Suits Memorial Steering Committee commissioned Preston Jackson to create a statue in tribute of the hundreds of Black Missourians who filed legal challenges to being enslaved. The fourteen-foot bronze statue was unveiled outside the St. Louis Civil Courts Building on June 20, 2022. Its granite base conveys the names of over three hundred people who petitioned the court for their freedom. Judge David C. Mason spearheaded the effort to create a memorial, and attorney Paul Venker chaired the steering committee. The St. Louis Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, managed fundraising for the project.