St. Louis judges plan sculpture to honor slaves

ST. LOUIS -- Judges in St. Louis are seeking a sculpture to honor the roughly 400 slaves who petitioned Missouri courts for freedom in the 1800s.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the judges are seeking proposals for the sculpture that will sit on the east side of the Civil Courts Building downtown.

Slaves filed "freedom suits" under Missouri's "once free always free" laws. Missouri law said if a slave was taken into a free state long enough for the slave owner to gain residency, the slave became free and stayed that way upon return to Missouri.

The sculpture has a budget of $200,000. The St. Louis Bar Association will raise funds to pay for it.

The deadline for proposals for the sculpture is Nov. 9.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com