Missouri Humanities | S3 E4: How Can We Engage with Stories of the Enslaved?

For the latest episode of Missouri Marvels, we dig into a groundbreaking initiative from Washington University in St. Louis, The Wash U and Slavery Project. Our conversation will highlight the St. Louis Integrated Database of Enslavement (or SLIDE), which makes historic Census and other key data searchable online, as well as efforts to  revisit connections between slavery and WashU's earliest leaders. This discussion features Dr. Geoff Ward, Professor of African and African American Studies (AFAS); Director, WashU & Slavery Project, and Kelly Schmidt, Reparative Public Historian and Associate Director of WashU & Slavery Project.

What is Missouri Humanities ?

Welcome to Season 5: The Story of US! Throughout 250 years of United States history, the people and places of Missouri have played a vital role in shaping the nation’s story. At the crossroads of rivers, frontiers, and ideas, Missouri has been a stage for exploration, innovation, conflict, and change. From Indigenous peoples to French settlers and westward pioneers, Missouri’s story began before statehood and remains ingrained in the nation’s history. As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Story of US invites Missourians to reflect on how Missouri’s people and communities have shaped defining chapters of our shared American journey. In this year-long series, we honor the enduring power of place and the voices, both celebrated and too often unheard, that reveal Missouri’s contributions to the complexity and promise of the American experience.

PAST SEASONS:
Season 1, "Eat, THINK, & Be Merry: Missouri's Foodways and Edible History"
Season 2, "Roots & Routes: The Movement and Settlement of Missourians"
Season 3, "Missouri Marvels: Humanities, Discovery, and Innovation"
Season 4, "Missouri Voices: Civics and Citizenry"

For more from Missouri Humanities, visit mohumanities.org