Community Remembrance and Reparative Justice in Missouri
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In this presentation Geoff Ward will briefly discuss efforts of Community Remembrance Projects across the US and here in MO working with Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) to address legacies of lynching. He will briefly discuss the large body of social science research showing how histories of lynching contribute to enduring patterns of conflict, violence, and inequality, in part through their distortions of the moral universe and corruption of the rule of law. Community Remembrance efforts aim to leverage the “power of us” to repair these harms, elevating the plane of civil and human rights in places where it was degraded by histories of lynching. The STL Community Remembrance Project is unveiling St. Louis’ first EJI historical marker Oct. 18 in Buder Park and will next turn its attention to installing a second marker commemorating the 1836 lynching of Francis McIntosh in downtown St. Louis. Members of the Ethical Society of St. Louis have been involved in our local efforts since their inception, and all are welcome to join.
Geoff Ward is professor of African American Studies and director of the Slavery Project at Washington University in St. Louis.
This Platform will feature music from The Ethical Band, the house band at the Ethical Society of St. Louis. It is composed of and led by members who are musicians of all kinds, ages, and skill levels. Whether you are a trained player, beginner, or just want to shake a tambourine, The Ethical Band is a great way to both dip your toes into performing and become more involved in our Humanist community.