Juneteenth and Father's Day: A Weekend to Celebrate!

This past weekend was one for honoring the men in our lives, particularly those who helped make our very existence possible. The courage and perseverance of our ancestors who fought for our rights, stood up to injustice, and worked tirelessly for our betterment is vividly portrayed in the following short biographies of some lesser-known but outstanding St. Louisans. We wrote recently about Archer Alexander and John Berry Meachum; if you missed that post, you can find it here. And now we hope you enjoy learning about the contributions of some additional important men of color.

Juneteenth for Genealogists

How exciting it is to finally have Juneteenth declared a national holiday! Celebrating the strength and courage of our ancestors is what we genealogists are all about, and being able to recognize those who preceded us as they fought for freedom and equality is part of so many family stories. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, and it also opens the door to remembering all of our ancestors who were caught up in the system from the earliest days of the colonies, to the end of the Civil War, and then through decades of blatant discrimination that followed.