Soil Collection Ceremony at Buder Park on January 17 2022, in remembrance of the January 17, 1894 lynching of John Buckner in the vicinity of Valley Park, MO
About Us
The Reparative Justice Coalition of St. Louis (RJCSTL) is a network of volunteers working to advance equal justice in our community. We are committed to increasing the collective understanding and response to histories of racial violence that continue to shape conflict, violence, and inequality in St. Louis today. Our network is working with Equal Justice Initiative and other partners across our city, state and nation to advance transformative racial justice in our region.
Aerial view of Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex, 1968
St. Louis Community Remembrance Project (CRP)
RJCSTL is organizing a Community Remembrance
Project in St. Louis, with Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).
We are beginning with remembrances of the 1894 lynching of John Buckner in Valley Park, and the 1836 lynching of Francis McIntosh in downtown St. Louis. The St. Louis CRP organizes remembrance events to acknowledge these grave historic injustices, and others, and to address their legacies of unequal justice in our region.
For more information, visit:
Pictured: The burning of Francis McIntosh, Illustrations of the American Anti-slavery Almanac, 1840.
John Buckner Soil Collection Ceremony
On January 17, 2022 the St. Louis Community Remembrance Project held a Soil Collection Ceremony in remembrance of the lynching of John Buckner on January 17, 1894.
The ceremony was held at Lower Buder Park, near the banks of the Meramec River, in the vicinity of the historic bridge (since replaced) where this racial terror lynching occurred.
Learn more about the ceremony, view the program, EJI remembrance, and photographs at the page below.
Our Work
Remembrance
We focus on the need to acknowledge and address histories of racial terror and their legacies in the St. Louis region. We use commemorative work to build the shared truth, mutual trust and cooperation needed to advance healing.
Repair
We use truth-telling to facilitate the reparative step of acknowledging historical traumas socially embodied and reproduced. We seek to redress legacies of structural inequality in areas of health, education, art, economics, politics, and beyond.
Reconciliation
By acknowledging and addressing the ways all communities have been and remain harmed by the violence of racism, our aim is to help realize a society truly defined by liberty and justice for all.
The Reparative Justice Coalition supports and partners with related commemorative projects in our region and across the state, including the statewide Missouri Community Remembrance Project.
Get Involved
Find out how you can get involved, connect, and support upcoming RJCSTL events and projects.