Kick off your weekend at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park! Each Thursday Night at the Museum will be the most fun, engaging, uplifting, thought-provoking, perspective-shaping night of your week. And there are drinks. Join us starting at 5:30pm for pop-up activities, such as brief tours, games, and performances. The main stage comes to life at 6:30pm, light appetizers and drinks are available for purchase until 7:00pm, and the Museum’s exhibits and shop are open until 8:00pm for you to explore!

ANCESTRAL LEGACIES AND BLACK RESISTANCE: EDUCATION, WELLNESS, AND THE LAW
An overview of the history of education of Black people in the St. Louis region with roots in Africa, Missouri state statutes, rural Black schools, the Meachum Freedom School, the naming of numbered schools, the role of colored women’s clubs, Homer G. Phillips Hospital and Nursing School, the impact of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Minnie v. Liddell, redlining, voluntary desegregation, and the current status of education, including the recent attempted closure of Sumner High School, the oldest Black High School west of the Mississippi River. We will investigate the impact of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 through the years and its impact on the present-day criminal justice system, our community, and our nation, as well as highlight resistance efforts.

African American History Initiative (AAHI) programming is presented by Wells Fargo.