Baker Sterchi attorney Paul Venker will present as part of the New Philadelphia Association’s 22nd Annual Likes Lecture Series on June 9.
Venker’s presentation, “Freedom Suits and the Freedom Suits Memorial,” will address the history of the St. Louis freedom suits and his work with the Freedom Suits Memorial Foundation, where he serves as president. The foundation’s mission includes development of a physical memorial and educational efforts to expand understanding of the cases and the individuals involved.
The St. Louis freedom suits were legal actions brought by more than 300 enslaved people who sought their freedom in St. Louis Circuit Court between the Louisiana Purchase and the Emancipation Proclamation. The memorial honors those individuals, as well as the lawyers and judges who participated in these early civil rights cases.
The New Philadelphia Association is the caretaker organization devoted to memorializing New Philadelphia, Illinois, the first U.S. town founded and planned by a free Black American before the Civil War.
The free Zoom session is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central. Registration is required. For more information or to register, click here.Recent Speaking Engagements
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