African American
Special Interest Group


A-SIG Logo The African American Special Interest Group (AA-SIG) provides a forum for individuals to network, share genealogical research, study, and preserve the history of Americans with particular interest in African descent.


Meetings



Meetings are held at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters monthly, on the fourth Saturday (unless otherwise noted).

2007



April

Date: Saturday, 28 April 2007
Meeting: 1:00 p.m.
Presentation: 1:30 p.m.
Topic: Directed Research
Speaker: Rosalind Williams

July

Date: Saturday, 21 July 2007
Meeting: 11:00 a.m.
Presentation: 11:30 a.m.
Topic: Directed Research
Speaker: LaDonna Garner, cg

September

Date: Saturday, 22 September 2007
Meeting: 1:00 p.m.
Presentation: 1:30 p.m.
Topic: Freedman’s Bureau Records
Speaker:

Ruth Ann Hager, cg, cgl

October

Date: Saturday, 27 October 2007
Meeting: 11:00 a.m.
Presentation: 11:30 a.m.
Topic: Directed Research
Speaker: LaDonna Garner, cg
Notes: This meeting will be held at the St. Louis Public Library, History and Genealogy Dept., 1301 Olive Street, St. Louis, Missouri. Attendees will have the opportunity to get one-on-one assistance from a professional genealogist.

December

Date: Saturday, 15 December 2007
Meeting: 1:00 p.m.
Presentation: 1:30 p.m.
Topic: TBA
Speaker:

 

For additional information, contact the African American Special Interest Group at 314-647-8547, e-mail:

or

LaDonna Garner (SIG Leader) at

African Americans in St. Louis



African Americans have played an important part in the culture, political, and spiritual history of St. Louis since 1764. They were members of the party that accompanied Pierre de Laclede Liguest when he founded the trading post and French village that became St. Louis. According to the 1799 census, the total population of St. Louis was 925 of which 46% were people of African descent.

African American communities were established in St. Louis County as early as the 1860s, e.g., Webster Groves and Rock Hill. The black community of Kinloch was not developed until the 1890s.

St. Louis was/is home to many famous African Americans: Scott Joplin, ragtime composer; W. C. Handy, composer of St. Louis Blues; Oliver Wendell Holmes, WWII flying ace; Dred Scott of the infamous Dred Scott Decision of 1847; Dick Gregory, civil rights activist and comedian; and many more.

The St. Louis Sentinel, Argus and American newspapers are published weekly by African Americans and are widely circulated.

Source: “The African-American Heritage of St. Louis: A Guide,” published by St. Louis Public Library, February 1992.