Nearly 10,000 school children have visited the year-long exhibit at the Missouri History Museum: “#1 in Civil Rights: The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis”. A new book “”Standing Up For Civil Rights in St. Louis is geared for third- to sixth-grade students and was recently published in coordination with the exhibit.
“I think when we talk to children about the civil rights they know Rosa Parks, they know Martin Luther King, but they don’t know a lot of the heroes in their own home,” said co-author Melanie Adams.
Amanda Doyle is the other co-author. Doyle said the 75-page book tells the story of little known civil rights heroes like former Sumner High School teacher Herman Dreer.
“Herman Drear was the person who actually brought Negro History Week here to St. Louis in the 1920’s and I think with that being now a national month, February being Black History Month, it was really great for students to be able to see someone in St. Louis who actually brought it here and started it here,” said Doyle.
“Hopefully they see these were everyday people seeing injustices and saying they won’t stand for it any more,” said Adams.
Like the exhibit at the Missouri History Museum, the book emphasizes St. Louis’ national impact in the fight for civil rights.
“The genius of the exhibit that the book tries to mirror is showing how every important moment and every important movement in civil rights did have an important St. Louis facet,” said Doyle. “These are conversations we need to be having at home. What does it mean to treat people equally? What does it mean to have fair access to things in our city?”
To get a copy of the book, major retailers like Amazon sell it and it’s available in the Missouri History Museum shop. For more information, click here.
