{"id":28768,"date":"2025-09-16T17:43:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T17:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=28768"},"modified":"2025-09-16T17:43:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T17:43:47","slug":"23rd-annual-mary-meachum-freedom-crossing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=28768","title":{"rendered":"23rd ANNUAL MARY MEACHUM FREEDOM CROSSING"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong> CELEBRATION HONORS BLACK HISTORY <\/strong><\/h1>\n<h4><strong><em>Free celebrations for St. Louis area residents on Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 will each<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><em> feature a historical performance aboutf Missouri\u2019s Underground Railroad <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>For the first time, the 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/greatriversgreenway.org\/get-involved\/things-to-do\/free-programs\/mary-meachum\/\">Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Celebration<\/a> will be a two-part event on September 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.missouribotanicalgarden.org\/\">Missouri Botanical Garden<\/a> and September 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitmo.com\/things-to-do\/mary-meachum-freedom-crossing-and-rest-area\">Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing<\/a> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/greatriversgreenway.org\/greenways\/mississippi-greenway-chouteau-riverfront-to-old-chain-of-rocks-bridge-riverfront-trail\/\">Mississippi Greenway<\/a>. Themed \u201cUnconditional Freedom: Live Free or Die Trying,\u201d the 23<sup>rd<\/sup> annual celebration highlights the story of the people who Mary Meachum led to seek their freedom from enslavement by Henry Shaw at the site of today\u2019s Missouri Botanical Garden.<\/p>\n<p>Both events are free and open to the public and will both include a historical performance at 12 p.m.. All ages are welcome to witness and reflect on how enslaved people and their allies risked it all in pursuit of basic freedoms.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Part 1: September 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Missouri Botanical Garden<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Attendees should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/mary-meachum-performance-at-missouri-botanical-garden-tickets-1623767736009\">register on Eventbrite<\/a> for a free ticket to both the Garden and the historical performance in the amphitheater at 12 p.m. Bring a chair or blanket for the amphitheater lawn. (<em>Please note registration is free but required<\/em>.) Enjoy tours of Shaw\u2019s home as well.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Part 2: September 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing on the Mississippi Greenway<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing site is located on the Mississippi Greenway (Riverfront Trail) on the Mississippi River, just north of Merchant\u2019s Bridge in North St. Louis (28 E Grand Ave, St. Louis, MO 63147). There will be free parking along the levee wall and a shuttle to the event. Chairs underneath tents for shade are provided for the historical performance at 12 p.m. The event also includes family-friendly activities and games; and food, drinks and goods available for purchase from local vendors.<\/p>\n<p>The Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing site, which is a member of the National Park Service\u2019s Network to Freedom Program, commemorates the work of Mary Meachum, a Black abolitionist who guided many enslaved people to freedom by helping them cross over to the free state of Illinois. She later helped to spearhead education efforts for Black men, women and children in St. Louis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf the nine enslaved people who met at the Mary Meachum site on May 21, 1855, four of them had fled from Henry Shaw in Tower Grove. This is the first time the two sites have been connected,\u201d said Angela da Silva, Mary Meachum event manager. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>This event is made possible by many partners, including: Angela da Silva, Great Rivers Greenway, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Division of Tourism, Explore St. Louis, City of St. Louis, Missouri History Museum, Youth &amp; Family Center, and Joshua House Ministries. Thanks to First Student for providing free community shuttle services and Ironman Sound for discounted audio support. Thanks to St. Louis City and County Libraries for distributing flyers. For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.MaryMeachum.org\">www.MaryMeachum.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CELEBRATION HONORS BLACK HISTORY Free celebrations for St. Louis area residents on Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 will each feature a historical performance aboutf Missouri\u2019s Underground Railroad For the first time, the 2025 Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Celebration will be a two-part event on September 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Missouri [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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