IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 92 

Honoring the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 20, 2024 

Ms. BUSH submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Honoring the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing. 

Whereas the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing is dedicated 

as part of the National Underground Railroad Network 

to Freedom, located on the Mississippi Greenway along 

the St. Louis riverfront; 

Whereas Mary Meachum and her husband, Reverend John 

Berry Meachum, were abolitionists who dedicated their 

entire lives to educating and freeing enslaved people; 

Whereas John Berry Meachum, born enslaved on May 3, 

1789, in Goochland County, Virginia, worked as a carpenter and purchased his own freedom at the age of 21; 

Whereas, after freeing himself from enslavement, Meachum 

walked 700 miles to Hanover County, Virginia, to purchase his father’s freedom; 


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Whereas, after purchasing his father’s freedom, the pair 

walked 700 miles back to Kentucky, where they promptly 

purchased the freedom of John’s mother and siblings, 

with John meeting his future wife soon after; 

Whereas Mary Meachum was born into slavery in Kentucky 

in 1801 and forcibly relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, 

when she was only 14 years old; 

Whereas Mary was forced to leave behind her newly beloved, 

John Berry Meachum, but John followed her to St. Louis 

and bought her freedom; 

Whereas, in 1825, St. Louis passed an ordinance that made 

it illegal for Black Americans to assemble without a permit from the city and a police officer present, making 

education nearly impossible to attain; 

Whereas, in 1827, the couple established the First African 

Baptist Church in St. Louis, the oldest Black American 

church west of the Mississippi River, whose congregation 

primarily consisted of enslaved people who were permitted by their owners to attend; 

Whereas Reverend Meachum began a school for Black Americans and secretly taught students in the basement of the 

church by candlelight, also known as a candle tallow 

school; 

Whereas, in 1847, soon after Missouri outlawed all education 

for both freed and enslaved Black Missourians, the school 

was dismantled by the police; 

Whereas, in defiance of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the 

Meachums’ home was a waypoint on the Underground 

Railroad, where they helped countless enslaved people escape to Illinois, where slavery was outlawed; 


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Whereas, after John’s death in February 1854, Mary 

Meachum continued their tireless abolitionist work educating and freeing enslaved people; 

Whereas, on the night of May 21, 1855, a small group of 

enslaved people were captured by enslavers and law enforcement, giving up Mary Meachum’s name as the arranger of the escape attempt and listing her home as the 

rendezvous point where they began their journey; 

Whereas Mary Meachum was arrested and charged with slave 

theft under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850; 

Whereas, following a long series of heroic, selfless, and historic fights for the freedom and education of enslaved 

people, Mary Meachum passed away in St. Louis in 

1869; and 

Whereas, in 2001, the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing was 

dedicated as part of the National Underground Railroad 

Network to Freedom, a congressionally mandated program of the National Park Service that honors, preserves, and promotes the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) honors the lives and work of Mary and John 

4 Meachum and recognizes the importance of the 

5 Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing as a part of this 

6 Nation’s history; and 

7 (2) elevates Black History Month as a time to 

8 evoke historical memory about the sacrifices and 


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1 contributions made by Black Americans, particularly 

2 Black abolitionists. 

Æ 


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