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Photography by Tom Incrocci, courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden
George Washington Carver statue surrounded by summer plantings in the Carver Garden.
Upcoming Events
Market at Missouri Botanical Garden | February 24
Visit theMissouri Botanical Gardenfor a retail market featuring Black vendors and a traditional African performance by the dance troupe of theSunshine Cultural Arts Center, an East St. Louis organization led by Sylvester “Sunshine” Lee that works with the school district to bring arts instruction and programming to young people.And while at the Missouri Botanical Garden, be sure to stop by the George Washington Carver Garden to celebrate the Missouri native’s many innovations.11 a.m. Farr Auditorium.
StitchCast Studio LIVE! Black History Lessons| February 27
Head for the listening room at the High Low (3301 Washington) forStitchCast Studio LIVE! Black History Lessons. It’s a live podcast discussion featuring the Story Stitchers, youth ages 16–25, discussing current topics with guests and performing artistic interludes. This episode features John A. Wright, Sr., a retired educator and the author of more than a dozen books includingExtraordinary Black MissouriansandEthnic St. Louis. The free event runs from 6–9:30 p.m., and there will be a cash bar.
African American Heritage Celebration|February 28
Join a free, fun party on the evening of at City Hall. TheAfrican American Heritage Celebration, sponsored by the Recorder of Deeds and Vital Records Registrar and hosted by Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler, Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore, and alderpeople Laura Keys, Pam Boyd, Shameem Hubbard, and Rasheen Aldridge honors city license collector Mavis Thompson, KSDK Anchor Rene Knott, and EncoreSTL founder Effrem Thomas Boudreau Grettenberger. Food and entertainment will be provided. 6–8 p.m.
Black History and the Disability Rights Movement Panel | February 29
This panel program will focus onthe experiences of Black people with disabilities and tracing the influence of the civil rights movement through the disability rights movement. At 5:45 and 6:05 p.m., join an accessible gallery tour. Tabling on the intersection of Black and disabled identities goes from 5–6:30 p.m, and the panel starts at 6:30 p.m. ASL interpretation will be provided. The event is part of Thursday Nights at the museum, so a cash bar, food, and pop-up activities will also be on hand. A guitar and vocal performance by Deb Busch wraps up the evening, which runs from 5–8 p.m.And the Missouri History Museum’sBlack History programmingis ongoing, with monthly genealogy offerings, panels, book talks and more.
Ongoing
Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Site
TheMary Meachum Freedom Crossing Sitecommemorates an abolitionist’s dedication to educating and freeing enslaved people. Meachum and her husband, the Rev.John Berry Meachum, established a school for Black students and opened their home to the Underground Railroad. On May 21, 1855, Meachum tried to help runaway slaves cross the Mississippi from St. Louis to Illinois, where they would be free. They were caught, and Meachum was arrested for her role in the plot—but the charges would be dropped. In 2001, the site, just north of the Merchants Bridge, was the first in Missouri to qualify as part of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Now, you can access the site at the Prairie Avenue trailhead of the St. Louis Riverfront Trail.
W.C. Handy popularized the blues with his song “St. Louis Blues”; the line “My man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea” was taken from a woman singing about her husband in the streets of St. Louis. But how much do you really know about cigar box guitars, the blues poem, or Okeh Records?The National Blues Museumis the place to learn about and celebrate the rich history of blues music and its prominent role in St. Louis life.
As if you needed a reason to view the work of Kehinde Wiley, who painted the official portrait of President Barack Obama: The portraitCharles I,on permanent display at theSaint Louis Art Museum,is based on a 1633 image of the English king. (Wiley’s version stars St. Louisan Ashley Cooper.) When SLAM announced in 2019 that it had acquired the painting, curator Hannah Klemm said, “Wiley’s paintings welcome African Americans, Africans and people of the African diaspora into the space of the canvas and assert their right to occupy that space. For the Saint Louis Art Museum,Charles Igoes further—the painting not only expands who is represented in portraiture, it literally brings the local community into the collection.”
Support Black-owned businesses all year long.ForTheCultureSTLmaintains a directory of Black-owned restaurants, medical providers, artists and designers, clothing and jewelry brands, tutors, legal services, skilled laborers, event planners, beauticians, laborers, media services, and more.
Jen Roberts
Jen Roberts writes on a variety of topics including travel, coffee, and the arts.
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Melissa Meinzer
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