In Black History Month

A highlight of local Black History Month activities will be the Missouri History Museum’s Family Weekend Feb. 17-18. 

That weekend will provide a variety of chances for kids to learn about Missouri’s African-American Heritage. February is Black History Month across the country. 

The History Museum has a full schedule of free events both Saturday and Sunday. The  programs run from noon to 4 p.m. each day. 

Included will be music, drama performances, historical talks and more. 

One of the highlights for kids will be the opportunity to sew quilt squares. These squares  played a unique part in the movement of slaves in the Civil War period. The St. Louis area was a vital link in what is known as the “Underground Railroad.”

There wasn’t an actual railroad. Rather, there were a number of informal routes from the Confederate South to the Union North. 

Barnes M. Bradshaw is gallery programs coordinator at the History Museum. He said handmade quilts often were used as “sign posts” to show fleeing Southern slaves the route to freedom in the North. 

“Local blacks would hang quilts on lines outside their homes. The quilt squares told which homes were friendly and which were not. Some quilts were in the form of arrows which pointed the route of the Underground Railroad,” he said. 

“Quilts were also a way for blacks to record their family histories,” he added.

Bradshaw said the role of quilts in the Civil War period can be found in a book, “Hidden in Plain View: The Secret Story of the Quilt and the Underground Railroad.” The book’s authors were Raymond Dobard and Jaqueline Tobin. It is available in St. Louis libraries.

Other activities and events during the Heritage Weekend include: 

* A dramatic performance about the life of colonial St. Louisan Esther Clamorgan, who won a court battle to retain ownership of her property. 

Bradshaw said the part of Clamorgan will be played by Carole Shelton, a staff member for the St. Louis Public Schools. The story of the black woman’s legal success was unusual for the times, Bradshaw said. 

This performance will be held both Saturday and Sunday. 

* A play on Saturday by the Historyonics Theatre Company will tell about the formation in St. Louis of the Congress on Racial Equality (C.O.R.E) 

Founded in 1947, the multiracial group of St. Louisans was dedicated to weekly sit-ins to integrate downtown lunch counters and restaurants. C.O.R.E. was a major factor in the integration movement in the United States. 

* Ninety-two-year-old Ann Pittman will sing African-American spirituals on both Saturday and Sunday. 

Pittman was raised in Mississippi by her maternal grandmother, a former slave. Her singing of spirituals is a tradition in St. Louis. 

* An actor will portray the life of Ivory Perry in St. Louis.

Perry was a civil rights activist in St. Louis during the 1950s and 1960s. 

Another Saturday event will be a lecture by local archeologist Tim Bauman. He will tell about things learned about African-American history from sites across Missouri.

One Sunday, local historian Dr. John Wright will talk about his research on local African-American historic sites. 

Slide shows about local African-American history will be held at 2 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. 

For a complete schedule of events for the February 17-18 weekend, you can go to the Missouri History Museum’s website at www.mohistory.org. 
 
 
 

Elizabeth Keckley was a local slave who purchased her freedom.   Seeking St. Louis African-American History  The Missouri History Museum has created a brochure to spotlight African-American exhibits in the museum’s permanent Seeking St. Louis galleries.  The brochure includes 17 “stops” in the Seeking St. Louis galleries that have special significance by local African-Americans.  Some of the “stops” include:  * A picture and story of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a local slave who purchased her freedom after the Civil War, moved to Washington, D.C., and became the dressmaker for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. The story is in her 1868 autobiography, “Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave and Four in the White House.” * A display about Jeannette Forchet, one of the first black landowners in St. Louis. She lived 1736 to 1803 and was a free citizen, under both French and Spanish law.  * A portrait of Dred Scott. His petition to be freed from slavery was one of the landmark cases during the Civil War period. * Baseball equipment belonging to Leon Anderson. He was a centerfielder for the St. Louis Bees and St. Louis Sports in the old segregated Negro League period.  * A can of hair oil developed by Annie Turnbo Pope Malone. She is considered to have been the first local African-American millionaire. She developed a line of hair-care and toiletry items. She is honored each year with a parade sponsored by the Annie Malone Children and Family Center.