Slavery

Across the nation, Black people have received racist text messages saying they have been “selected to pick cotton.” Black St. Louisans are furious about the texts, including St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, whose son received one.

Two archival exhibits to help St. Louisans better understand the city’s role in slavery are coming to the Civil Courts building in downtown St. Louis beginning Tuesday. People can learn about the city’s racist past through historical artifacts, stories from the enslaved and lesser-known freedom suits court pleadings.

After a push in recent years from advocates and state legislators, the St. Louis Cardinals signaled they're open to placing markers at the Lynch slave pen site among others in the area.

St. Louis University's student government unanimously passed a resolution urging the school to address its history of slavery and compensate descendants for long-standing harm.

Progress on the massive restoration project at the Gustave Korner House in Belleville has been slow and challenging, but community leaders are looking toward the city for help.

Three St. Louis-area locations have been added to the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom for their connections to enslaved people.

“Eliza” is a historical short film based on the life of Eliza Rone, a woman enslaved, and eventually emancipated, by the prominent Campbell family in 19th century St. Louis.

New Philadelphia, a small Pike County, Illinois, town rich in history, is making headlines nearly 200 years after it was founded. It made a name for itself in 1836 when it became the first town legally registered and platted by a formerly enslaved person. Recently, the town site became the nation’s 424th national park.

St. Louis will pay homage to hundreds of enslaved Black Missourians who fought for their freedom with the help of local lawyers, jurors and judges. Their lawsuits filed in the 1800s are known as “freedom suits.”

The Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved are hosting a headstone ceremony to honor and celebrate the life of their ancestor Sylvester Chauvin on June 13. Chauvin was a star baseball player for the St. Louis Black Stockings, one of the country’s first Black baseball teams.