Slavery

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.

Dating back to 1851, the Campbell House was the first home built on St. Louis’ first private street. A new exhibit at the museum there tells the story of the enslaved people and servants who worked at the house.

St. Louis Circuit Court will honor the men and women who filed freedom suits in St. Louis — and the lawyers who worked on them.

Washington University students and faculty have lifted the veil from its co-founder William Greenleaf Eliot, who for years was known as an abolitionist. Although he held anti-slavery views, he vehemently opposed abolitionism and did not see a future for freed Black people in America.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis recently revealed some of its early bishops and clergy held enslaved people. That includes Bishop William DuBourg and Bishop Joseph Rosati. Now two schools named for the men are reckoning with that history.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis is the latest religious institution to acknowledge its role in enslaving people. The archdiocese started a project called Forgive Us Our Trespasses to uncover that history.

In March, the Jesuits and a group of Georgetown University descendants announced a new foundation with a plan for racial healing, but some St. Louis descendants say they had no input in a plan to allocate $100 million.

Washington University is the latest on a growing list of universities and colleges nationwide looking into the role they may have played in slavery.

“In the Walnut Grove: A Consideration of the People Enslaved in and Around Florissant, Missouri” explores the important role enslaved people played in the St. Louis suburb. The book's editor, Andrew J. Theising, discussed it on "St. Louis on the Air."