Our Daily Show Interview! Freedom To Equality Tours Continue October 19th!
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ALTON - Local historian Jared Hennings will host the Freedom to Equality tours to highlight the Riverbend’s Black history.
On Oct. 19 and Nov. 16, 2024, Hennings will guide attendees through a shuttle tour around Alton and Godfrey to several local landmarks. From the Underground Railroad to the 13th Amendment, the history behind each stop will share more about Alton’s African American community and historical significance.
“I must say, it does broaden my appreciation for where I live,” Hennings said. “It makes me realize that I really live in a very special area. I think people, once they take the tour, they feel likewise, because a lot of this information, you probably just drive by. You do not realize that all of this fantastic history is a part of where we live. It is something that makes you more appreciative as to where you live, as to how your life integrates with where you live.”
The tours, sponsored by the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau, start at the visitors center at 200 Piasa Street in Alton. From there, they travel to Rocky Fork Church in Godfrey, which was a verified stop on the Underground Railroad.
“There were the freedom seekers who were heading there, and the Rocky Fork settlement area was the first location that they landed or that they found as they were heading either to Chicago or Detroit and even as far north as Canada,” Hennings explained. “That’s one real significant aspect about going to Rocky Fork.”
After their stop in Godfrey, the group will travel to Lyman Trumbull’s house on Henry Street in Alton. Trumbull authored the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. His house in Alton is included on the National Registry of Historic Places.
The tour continues to Alton Cemetery, where several important people are buried. The group first makes a stop at the Elijah P. Lovejoy monument.
“Obviously, you can’t talk about anything that is historical without some information relative to Lovejoy,” Hennings said. “Our monument is the tallest monument in the state of Illinois. It steeps upward right at 110 feet tall. People probably don’t realize that the Lovejoy monument is the tallest monument in the state.”
Charles Newton, the first African American to graduate from Alton High School, is also buried in the Alton Cemetery. Hennings explained that Newton did not attend AHS because the schools were segregated, but he was invited to attend and speak at the graduation ceremony.
“Because he had acquired the academics that were necessary for him to graduate, he was invited to participate in the graduation ceremonies. And not only was he invited to participate, he was invited to present a speech,” Hennings said. “Newton had a prestigious kind of background in that he was the first colored person to graduate from the high school and that he was invited to present an address there, so that is definitely noteworthy.”
The Lewis and Clark Scott Bibb Center, part of Lewis and Clark Community College, is located nearby in Alton. The group will stop there, where Hennings will explain Bibb’s contributions as a man who sued the city when Alton decided to resegregate the schools. Though Bibb won the lawsuit, Alton schools were still resegregated for many years.
In 1856, Union Baptist Church held a convention to dispatch ministers across the state to speak against the Black Codes. The tour will reconvene at the church, then end at the Miles Davis statue on 3rd Street.
Hennings noted his excitement to share Alton’s history with the community. He said the tours are best for attendees age 13 and up. The tours start at 10 a.m. and last two hours. Attendees can find out more at the official webpage or buy tickets for the Oct. 19 tour, or call Hennings directly at 678-920-9756 to book your spot on the Nov. 16 tour.
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