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 car-
penter 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 pur-
chase 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 per-
mit 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 per-
mitted by their owners to attend; 
Whereas Reverend Meachum began a school for Black Ameri-
cans 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 es-
cape 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 edu-
cating and freeing enslaved people; 
Whereas, on the night of May 21, 1855, a small group of 
enslaved people were captured by enslavers and law en-
forcement, giving up Mary Meachum’s name as the ar-
ranger 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 his-
toric 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 pro-
gram of the National Park Service that honors, pre-
serves, and promotes the history of resistance to enslave-
ment through escape and flight: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) honors the lives and work of Mary and John 
Meachum and recognizes the importance of the 
Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing as a part of this 
Nation’s history; and 
(2) elevates Black History Month as a time to 
evoke historical memory about the sacrifices and 
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contributions made by Black Americans, particularly 
Black abolitionists. 
Æ 
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