The Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site is hosting an Author Talk on the murdered Abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy on April 22, 2023. The program begins at 2:00 PM and is free, but a reservation is required. The park is located at 7400 Grant Road, St. Louis, MO 63123. Phone: 314 842-1867
Here is the description from the National Park:
Author and journalist Ken Ellingwood will discuss his recent book, First to Fall, on Elijah Lovejoy’s life and struggles, and the enduring legacy of a 19th-century newspaper editor who refused to be silent about slavery. Elijah Lovejoy was the editor of The St. Louis Observer and in 1836 incurred public anger at his paper’s critical coverage of the lynching of Francis McIntosh, a free Black steamboat worker, in downtown St. Louis. A mob ransacked Lovejoy’s office, and he made the decision to move to Alton, IL. There he also faced opposition and mobs destroyed several of his printing presses. Lovejoy was killed on November 7, 1837, defending a replacement printing press at his warehouse. News of Lovejoy’s death spread across the country and had a great impact on the abolitionist movement and the concern for First Amendment rights.
The program is free. Call 314-842-1867 ext. 230 for reservations.
Ken Ellingwood is a writer and longtime former correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. During a career for the Times spanning two decades, Ken wrote stories from more than a dozen countries, including from zones of armed conflict in Iraq, the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-Lebanese border. He has also covered earthquakes in Iran and Haiti, a papal visit to Cuba, street protests in Lebanon and a devastating drug war in Mexico. Ken has won numerous journalism awards and is also the author of “Hard Line: Life and Death on the U.S.-Mexico Border,” an account of his years covering immigration. He spent early years as a reporter in Maine—not far from the childhood home of Elijah Lovejoy. After nearly 20 years of life overseas, Ken resides in Burlington, Vermont, with his wife and a cat they brought from the United Arab Emirates.
