Carol Daniel recently encouraged us to celebrate Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. In Europe it took a plague to end the feudal system and allow peasants to move around and sell their labor. The eight-hour workday was achieved by a lot of people getting hurt and killed.
Now we have the opportunity to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Dred and Harriet Scott Decision and see their descendants so proud, not letting us forget their freedom-seeking ancestors.
St. Louis has the most expensive federal building in the United States called the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse. The name is carved in stone for everyone to see. At the Old Courthouse, there is a tiny little Dred and Harriet Scott plaque on the fence.
It’s time to give the Old Courthouse a proper name. Because of its most famous case, it should be named the Dred and Harriet Scott United States Courthouse. Let’s request that U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay seek to have their names emblazoned on the two main entrances to the Old Courthouse. Readers: Please mail this letter to Congressman Clay, along with your words of encouragement.
Al Katzenberger
St. Louis