02/28/2025

As part of Black History Month, Saint Louis University held the inaugural Lights of Remembrance ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 27, honoring the lives and contributions of enslaved individuals who helped build and sustain the University and other Jesuit missions in Missouri in the 19th century. 

The vigil, organized by SLU graduate student Sam Hall in collaboration with Robin Proudie, founder and director of the Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved (DSLUE), brought together students, faculty, staff and community members for an evening of reflection, remembrance and healing in the University’s Center for Global Citizenship.

“Tonight, we gather not only to remember but to honor and hold space for the past, acknowledge the present and commit to the future,” Hall said. “This is more than just a vigil; it is a reclamation of truth and a step toward justice.”

Proudie added: “We’re here to take them [our ancestors] out of the darkness and bring them into the light for their contributions and for their sacrifice. We are a living testament, and we will not stop until everyone who walks through these doors knows who — along with the Jesuit founders — were there doing the heavy lifting.”

Master drummer Aakhen Anu started off the evening with a drum call, a traditional West African ritual in which rhythmic drumming summons community members and calls to their ancestors to invite them into a space. 

Christopher Tinson, Ph.D., chair of SLU’s Department of African American Studies, delivered a land acknowledgment recognizing the Indigenous peoples who were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in St. Louis.

Later in the program, Tinson talked about the importance of continuing to explore the “devastating history” of slavery. He also noted that SLU is part of Universities Studying Slavery (USS), a consortium of more than 100 institutions engaged in truth-telling educational projects focused on human bondage and the legacies of racism in their histories.

“As devastating as that history was, it did not kill the African spirit, and it did not kill the African people,” Tinson said. “Our resilience is as much of the story as our oppression.” 

Amari M. Sneferu, minister of Pan-African affairs for the Universal African Peoples Organization, officiated a libation ceremony, a ritual pouring of liquid found in many African cultures and traditional religions to honor ancestors, seek their guidance and acknowledge their enduring spiritual presence.

During the ceremony, award-winning poet InnerGy delivered a spoken word piece titled “When Light Is Not Enough,” and acclaimed pianist and composer Royce Martin played two ragtime compositions, including “Heliotrope Bouquet,” co-written by St. Louis ragtime musician Louis Chauvin, whose parents were enslaved by the University.

After members of the Black Student Association and Student Government Association read the names of enslaved ancestors, three descendants — Safiyah Chauvin, Rev. Greg Holley and DoMarco Holley — shared personal reflections about their family histories and their continued fight for justice.

After the formal program concluded, attendees headed outside for a candlelighting and tribute to the late Jonathan Smith, Ph.D., SLU’s first vice president for diversity and innovative community engagement, who passed away suddenly in 2021.

“Light is a symbol of guidance, remembrance and resilience,” Hall said before the group left the CGC. “Let the candles stand as a testament to the lives that paved the way for us. Let them remind us that, though our ancestors are no longer here in body, their light continues to shine through us.”

Lights of Remembrance was supported by SLU’s Black Student Association, Department of African American Studies, Department of Campus Ministry, Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement and Student Government Association.