The Freedom Suits Memorial was the brain child of Judge David Mason of St. Louis, Missouri. Artist Preston Jackson was commissioned to create a monument celebrating those courageous enslaved ones who dared sue for their freedom and the lawyers who represented them. The event will take place June 20, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. at the Civil Courts Building. The public is invited.
On May 5, 2021, the Daughters of Union Veterans (DUV) held their national conference in St. Louis, MO. Lynne Jackson was the luncheon speaker. To her surprise, she was given an honorary membership to the DUV nominated by Joan Koechig and given by Dr. Sandra K. Millin, National President. The event was held at the Hilton Frontenac. From that she was invited by Carol Comp, President Oklahoma Department to the Oklahoma Department DUVCW Convention. On May 21, 2022 she will be the guest speaker in Oklahoma City with Tent President, Lauri Womack.. The DUV have chapters around the country and welcome membership to any whose ancestors are vetted to have fought in the Union for the Civil War. Many women who are DUV are also DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) from whom Ms. Jackson has received 3 awards for sharing the history and having now a long standing relationship with these organizations going back to the first meeting in Chesterfield, MO in 2007.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT INFORMATION
DRED SCOTT HERITAGE FOUNDATION
LYNNE M. JACKSON, PRESIDENT
314-532-5613
May 9, 2022
The Dred Scott Heritage Foundation has been notified and is proud to announce a grant of $65,000 has been designated to the foundation for the construction of The Dred Scott Memorial Monument at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, MO from the Mellon Foundation Monuments Project.
$250 million was committed by the Mellon Foundation to transform the nation’s commemorative landscape by supporting public projects that more completely and accurately represent the multiplicity and complexity of American stories. We are most grateful to the Mellon Foundation for their vision to foresee how their support can impact organizations like ours and help create new and lasting legacies to the histories of our country, some which had not been understood until these times.
The Dred Scott Memorial Monument will be constructed on the current grave site of Mr. Scott at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis. Plans are for a 9-foot-tall black granite monument facing the cemetery road. The monument will include column ornamentation with space for etching, design, the image of Dred Scott and a detailed history. A patio area with benches will be included where people can sit and meditate to understand how important Dred Scott was to the history of the United States of America.
For 90 years, at Calvary and 9 years prior at Wesleyan Cemetery, he laid in an unmarked grave.
When built, the Dred Scott Memorial Monument will continue to recognize Dred Scott’s place in history and to inform future generations of what enslaved African Americans endured in their fight for freedom and justice.
Dred Scott’s grave is among the top three most requested sites at the cemetery by visitors from all walks of life. The new memorial will be a fitting destination for those seeking this history, a place of pilgrimage and for lovers of American history. It will fulfill each of the foundation’s goals of Commemoration, Education and Reconciliation.
Click on the image above to register!
From August 2019 – August 2020, the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation commemorates 400 + Years of Fortitude of Americans of African descent and their contributions to our country.
On Sunday, March 18, 2018, we will proudly honor several individuals whose lives have exemplified selfless service and outstanding character in the pursuit of their life’s calling.
We are delighted to have as our Honorary Co-chairs the Honorable Missouri Supreme Court Judge George W. Draper III and St. Louis Circuit Court Associate Judge Judy Draper. Once again our Awards Dinner Chairman is Ms. Peggy Lewis LeCompte. We invite you to support our dinner and help us celebrate these servant leaders for willfully exercising their sacrificial duty to our needy society.
We hope you will join us!
By American staff
“Harriet and Dred Scott are true American heroes,” Dred Scott Heritage Foundation President and Founder Lynne M. Jackson, told The American just before the bronze statue bearing their likeness was unveiled downtown back in 2012.
Next Saturday (August 12), The Dred Scott Heritage Foundation and collaborative partners the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will spend the entire day commemorating the 160thanniversary of the day when the Scotts received their freedom.
Though the activities will be held in August, the actual date their freedom was granted was May 26, 1857.
The Dred Scott Heritage Foundation in collaboration with the Missouri History Museum, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and with support from Sandberg Phoenix and von Gontard, P.C. are partnering together to commemorate the 160thanniversary of the historic day when the Scotts received their freedom. * On Saturday, August 12, 2017, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Foundation and the History Museum will host a celebration of that little known but monumental day with a series of festivities to recognize the long battle fought by the Scott family to win their freedom from enslavement.
The event will feature several presentations:
For younger participants, the History Clubhouse will have special Dred Scott activities, and games provided by Anthony Clair, owner of Time 4Fun Events. Children will have the opportunity to learn from the Dred Scott Activity and Coloring Book, written by Lynne Madison Jackson, for the Foundation, supported by Really Big Coloring Books.
In addition, local actors John LaGrone and Peggy Nealy Harris from the Dred Scott Theatre Troupe and the Missouri History Museum’s Civil Rights Exhibit will portray famous characters of the Dred Scott Decision. Local artists Debi Piclkler, and CBABI Bayoc will create inspiring art in the grand hall.
Participating community organizations presenting that day include: Community Women Against Hardship, Father’s Support Center, Covering House, Greenwood Cemetery, Office of the Secretary of State, Really Big Coloring Books, EyeSeeMe African American Children’s Books, Dred Scott Stamp Campaign, Strength to Love Media Project, Time 4 Fun, Young Friends of Dred Scott and the DSHFoundation. * The actual date of the Scott family’s freedom was May 26, 1857
This event was initiated by and is generously sponsored by Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. We express thanks and appreciation to our sponsoring law firm.
The event is free and open to the public.
Photo source: mohistory.org/welcome
In 2015, a letter was sent to request a Dred Scott stamp. On this 160th Anniversary, we are requesting thousands of letters and petitions that are needed to be written in support of a Dred Scott Commemorative Stamp.
The request is in recognition of the 14th Amendment in 2018. It is also called the Dred Scott Amendment. Mary Sternberg is the coordinator who has already worked with a Florida Middle School which submitted almost 1,500 requests. We will be asking for your help and support to submit support letters.
Look for more information soon!
Below, the proposed “concept proofs” designed by St. Louis-based Designer, Mark Scott Carroll.
