Mary Meachum Celebration: A Tale of an Urban Slave Escape

 

On May 21, 2011 in St. Louis, MO, over 300 people gathered at the site of the Mary Meachum Underground Railroad, located on the banks of the Mississippi River, to celebrate the historic Mary Meacham Freedom Crossing.  This 9th annual event included a fully costumed re-enactment of the events of May 21, 1855 — when a party of nine enslaved Africans crossed the Mississippi River to Illinois, in an attempt to make a daring flight to freedom.  The exodus was conducted by Mary Meacham, a free woman of color and widow of John Berry Meacham, the famous abolitionist.  2011 also marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

 The celebration began with a Bike Ride and a Kids Bike Rodeo sponsored by Trailnet, followed by storytelling, dance, and gospel songs.  The actual reenactment entitled “A Tale of an Urban Slave Escape” was written and directed by Angela da Silva, the organizer of the event.  The scene opens as the Civil War is just beginning.  Governor Claiborne Jackson is elected as a non-secessionist but secretly works to carry Missouri out of the Union.

The large St. Louis police force is put under State control.  Slave codes receive new enforcement and a lock-down is enacted.   The enslaved freedom seekers meet at the First Baptist Church to discuss their future and decide that an escape to freedom is the only option they have left.  In this emotional depiction, a posse on horseback waving their guns in the air arrives at the riverfront and quickly rounds up the slaves.

The audience cheered as the re-enactment began.  Parents, grandparents and children clapped as they sang gospel songs.  As the slaves ran by the crowd, followed closely by law men on horseback, onlookers crowded around the riverfront trail to get a closer look.  The event draws to a close as red, black, and green balloons are distributed to the audience. Sister Antona Ebo, FSM, nationally recognized Civil Rights icon begins with a prayer.  The audience then releases their balloons, a symbol for the souls of all Freedom Seekers. 

The event had a special significance this year, with Mayor Francis Slay who presented a Proclamation to Grace Hill Settlement House and its partners, FedEx Freight, Great Rivers Greenway, and the National Park Service announcing a land swap which would bring organizers closer to developing a riverfront monument.  “This is an important part of our history,” St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told the audience.  “The event”, he said,” looks at the tragedies of the past but also at the courage of slaves trying to escape to the free state of Illinois”.  In 2001, the National Park Service designated the crossing as the first Missouri site to be part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. 

 Grace Hill Settlement House, a non-profit organization serving St. Louis City since 1903 organized the event.  This event would not have been possible without the generous support of the Missouri Humanities Council, Confluence Partners, Gannett Foundation, Great Rivers Greenway, Missouri Arts Council, National Black Tourism Network, St. Louis Fire Department, St. Louis Police Department, and Trailnet, Inc. 

To view the re-enactment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGDSS-gvcJs&feature=youtu.be

Return to page one

Also in this issue