A program Monday night, February 24, in West Plains will tell the story of Celia, an enslaved woman in Calloway County in the 1800s who killer her enslaver, Robert Newsom, after years of sexual assault, "and, as a result of that crime, she was executed after a trial," said Crockett Oaks.
Oaks and his wife recently restored the Lincoln School in West Plains, which was built for Black students in 1925 during segregation. It’s the Lincoln School Project that’s hosting Monday night’s program.
Celia was executed on December 18, 1855. Her defense team had argued self-defense. But the Missouri High Court argued that didn’t apply to enslaved women.
Late last year, an action by then-Governor Mike Parson helped set the record straight.
"Her family descendants, 175 plus years later, was able to successfully get her pardoned for that crime," said Oaks.
The program, presented by the Justice for Celia Coalition, will bring together Celia’s descendants and those of her owner. Crockett hopes her story will be a beacon of hope for those who cannot tolerate injustice.
"I think it would just be good for our community just to appreciate the injustices of the past so that it may make us stand up a little straighter and speak out against those injustices that happened within our lifetime that we could clearly have an impact to correct," said Oaks.
The program, titled simply, “Celia,” will start Monday night at 5 at the Historic Lincoln School, 1400 E. Pony Thomas Street in West Plains.
Speakers will include: Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, coalition Leader and second great granddaughter of Celia and Robert Newsom; Nancy Fogle-Compos, fourth great granddaughter of Robert Newsom and Elizabeth Gwinn Newsom; Dr. Nichol Allen, Museum Studies and history professor at Westminster College; and Solomon Thurman, Jr., Celia portrait artist and historian.
