Overview (Program Summary)
A program hosted by:
ACC St. LouisBlack History Month: Freedom Suits Memorial
From the time of the Louisiana Purchase through the Emancipation Proclamation, nearly 400 courageous enslaved people petitioned Missouri courts to seek their legal freedom, assisted by lawyers working without pay.
Judge David C. Mason will speak about the courage of these litigants in what was ultimately nation-altering change and discuss how judges and lawyers fulfilled their duties during these lawsuits.
Judge Mason conceived the Freedom Suits Memorial, which will honor freedom suit plaintiffs and the judges and lawyers who supported their cause. Designed by sculptor Preston Jackson, it will be situated on the east side of the Civil Courts Building in downtown St. Louis, between it and the Old Courthouse, where most of the suits were filed.
We look forward to seeing you online on February 25th!