Meet Angela

Angela da Silva is the President of the National Black Tourism Network, an adjunct professor at Lindenwood University, and the driving force behind the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Celebration on the Mississippi Greenway. The theme of the event changes each year and shines a spotlight on important—yet rarely-told or not widely-known—Black history in St. Louis. In addition to organizing the event with partners, Angela writes, directs, and performs in a living history reenactment that brings each year’s theme to life. Angela shares why she is so passionate about teaching and sharing Black history:

“I was about eleven when I first heard about slavery. My grandmother and I were hanging up sheets on a summer day, when out of nowhere she says, “My grandmother told me the worst beating she ever got was from her mistress who said the sheets weren’t white enough.” After me asking many questions, she explained that White people used to own us … and that started my journey on the quest of discovering my history. As an adult, I realized, that Black history wasn’t widely known, but for only a few individuals such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harriet Tubman. We have had previously unknown heroes and “she”-roes such as Mary Meachum…and their stories are just as important, or maybe more so. A light needs to be shined on them whenever and wherever they are found.”  (Learn more about Mary Meachum here.)