| The St. Louis Gateway Arch National Park is hosting the Gateway to Inclusive History Conference on Juneteenth, Monday, June 19, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Conference attendees will hear from representatives from theNational Underground Railroad Network to Freedom; the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network; and the African American Civil Rights Network and learn how to nominate St. Louis area sites to these networks. Conference speakers include Barry Jurgenson, Midwest Region Program Manager for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom;Nathan Betcher who is a historian with the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network; and Ariel Roy, partner historian with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The conference also includes presentations from local groups and individuals working to commemorateAfrican American history in St. Louis. 2:00 Afternoon speakers will be include:Lynne Jackson from the Dred Scott Foundation,Linda Nance from the Annie Malone Center,Dr. Angela DaSilva from the Mary Meachum CrossingNetwork to Freedom Site, andVivian Gibson author of The Last Children of Mill Creek. Kelly Schmidt, Postdoctoral Research Associate with the WashU& Slavery Project, and Elizabeth Simons, Community Program Manager with Great Rivers Greenway will moderate a roundtable about a potential African American Heritage Trail in St. Louis. Attendees will include members of the National BlackMBAs St. Louis Chapter.Contact Michelle Perkins at 314-608-8846 for more information to join their group for a Juneteenth program at 1 p.m. that will end by joining the Arch program at 2 p.m. The conference is free to attend, no registration is required.You will be required to go through security. Please contact Pam Sanfilippo at pamela_sanfillippo@nps.gov for more information. |