There’s a new marker on the Springfield-Greene County African American Heritage Trail. The 10th marker, at Water and Boonville, tells the story of Milly Sawyers, an enslaved woman who sued for her freedom in Greene County and won. A year later, she was severely beaten by a mob of white men, which included one of Springfield’s founders, John Polk Campbell, as well as Lucias Rountree, Junius Campbell, Sidney Ingram and others.
Willard High School Drama Department, under the direction of Kendra Chappell, produced the play, The Milly Project, in early 2019, soon after Sawyers’ story was discovered at the Greene County Archives.
Adora Lorae who played the role of Milly and co-authored the play attended the marker unveiling Wednesday.
"I think seeing Milly's strength and learning about her drive and her courage at a time where it was literally illegal for her to have courage it really showed me that, for me as a woman of color, I can have that same level here today," she said. "Although it looks different, it can be really isolating being here sometimes."
Victoria Graji was a classmate of Lorae’s at Willard and was also part of The Milly Project.
"It's really beautiful to see the efforts that we put in and see the community being just as inspired by her as we are," said Graji, "so, yeah, it's exciting, it's emotional, it's beautiful, and it's empowering. It's inspiring for me and what I want to do with my life to see the community come around this."
Since the discovery of a forgotten part of Springfield history at the Greene County Archives by Connie Yen, Sawyer’s story has gained many new audiences and is being used in legal education by the Missouri Bar Association.
The next marker on the African American Heritage Trail will be unveiled at the Kentwood Arms this fall.
