The monument will honor the freedom suits and the brave people who filed them. Of the cases filed, only 130 were successful. And because enslavement status was passed on through maternal ancestry, many of these cases were filed by courageous women. 

The monument – which depicts an enslaved woman approaching the courthouse – will be unveiled on June 20 at the downtown Civil Courts building. It will face the Old Courthouse, where most of the freedom suits were tried. 

Kennedy Hunt P.C. is proud to support the Freedom Suits Memorial. We look forward to St. Louisans soon learning more about the brave enslaved people who sued for their freedom – the nation’s first civil rights lawsuits. If you would also like to support this worthy cause, please donate here.

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Ms. Klossner is a 62-year-old woman with physical and mental disabilities. She’s been a resident of Table Mound Mobile Home Park since 2009. Ms. Klossner is unable to work due to a combination of her impairments. Therefore, Ms. Klossner’s one thousand dollar a month income is from public assistance payments. 

In 2017, investment firm ADU Table Mound MHP, LLC purchased the park where Ms. Klossner lives. As the New Yorker reported, when investment firms purchase mobile home parks, rent prices often rise rapidly. Klossner soon found herself unable to afford her rent. 

In addition to raising Ms. Klossner’s rent over 14 percent in just one year, Table Mound also included illegal provisions in her lease and was wrongfully denied the housing choice voucher Klossner was awarded from the federal government due to her disabilities.

In February 2020, Ms. Klossner’s counsel sent a letter to Table Mound asking them to accept the housing choice voucher. The request was denied. 

On October 6, 2021, a judge ordered Table Mound to accept Ms. Klossner’s vouchers, a monumental win for housing rights advocates. As the New Yorker reports, this case is “the first time that the question of whether the Fair Housing Amendments Act can require landlords to accept Section 8 housing vouchers for people with disabilities has been decided after a trial.” 

“[T]his is a significant victory for both manufactured-home owners and disabled Iowans alike,” the attorneys on the case told the New Yorker. “It will help preserve a critical property right—a roof over one’s head—for the most vulnerable among us.”  

ADU Table Mound MHP, LLC has appealed the judge’s decision. 

This case is ongoing. For further information, please contact attorney Thomas E. Kennedy  at (314) 872-9041 or tkennedy@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has been a victim of housing discrimination, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim. 

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A staple among St. Louis’ white and wealthy, Veiled Prophet was founded in 1878 by two brothers who were Confederate soldiers. The Slayback brothers created Veiled Prophet in response to the 1877 Railroad Strike, in which more than 1,500 Black and white railroad workers protested over the insufferable pay and treatment they faced. 

Its purpose, according to historian Thomas Spencer, is to ensure elite values are at the forefront of public attention, not populist ideologies. 

The secret society hosts an annual festival, and only St. Louis’ most elite get the invite. Though there are no definitive ties between the Veiled Prophet and the Klu Klux Klan, its imagery certainly does. The ball features a Veiled Prophet, an anonymous man in a costume resembling KKK garbs. What’s more, Black men weren’t allowed into VP until 1979. 

Every year, the Veiled Prophet awards a young woman as the Queen of Love and Beauty. And recently, Veiled Prophet has garnered national attention because the 1999 Queen of Love and Beauty is Ellie Kemper, Office actress and St. Louis native. 

Kemper has since apologized.

But criticism of the Veiled Prophet’s racism is nothing new. In 1969, Black activists gathered outside of the VP Ball and shouted “white racism must go, the Veiled Prophet must go.” Three years later, a few protestors got into the ball and unmasked the Veiled Prophet. 

For now, the Veiled Prophet continues on as yet another example of racism in this city. At Kennedy Hunt P.C., we work to combat inequality. 

Our practice areas, including civil rights and employment law, center the importance of equality and justice. If you have been a victim of racism and injustice, we can help. Fill out a questionnaire or contact us at (314) 872-9041.

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Our client began working for the Belleville Police Department on July 20, 2015 as a secretary in the Operations Division. Captain Moody was her direct supervisor. Our client asserts that Moody and other department employees frequently made sexual jokes and comments loudly in her presence, making it difficult for her to concentrate on her work. In 2017, after she attended a sexual harassment training, Moody began making sexual comments about our client’s voice. This created an environment where our client felt as if she could not speak out loud for fear of being sexualized and teased. Our client claims that Moody continuously harassed, degraded, and humiliated her in front of other employees. 

In 2018, our client reported Moody’s conduct to a member of human resources. Afterward, our client was assigned to temporarily work in the records department. When she was hired in 2015, Moody told her that he punished employees he did not like by sending them to the records department. While in this department, our client met a colleague who was sent to records after complaining about Moody’s sexual misconduct. 

When our client returned from the records department, she endured worse treatment from Moody. On one occasion, Moody called our client into his office and directed her to sign the sexual harassment form in front of him. Understandably, our client wanted to review the information on the document before signing it, which led Moody to become visibly upset. He yelled and slammed his fists on the desk in a threatening manner. The next day, Moody threatened our client, saying that he would not write her a good review unless she signed the form.

After this, our client complained about Moody’s behavior to Ms. Favre, the director of human resources. Favre informed our client that Clay was “disappointed in her” for complaining about Moody. Still, an investigation ensued, which resulted in the department moving our client to an office on the third floor and took no action against Moody, which did not make our client feel safe. Our client requested additional measures to keep her safe from Moody. No measures were put into place and instead Favre questioned our client on if she was quitting her job. In October 2018, our client received a letter from Defendant Clay stating that she voluntarily resigned from her job. The lawsuit seeks lost wages and benefits, reinstatement, front wages, emotional distress damages, compensatory damages and punitive damages.

On May 29, 2020, Moody filed a motion to dismiss. On June 2, 2020, the City of Belleville and Clay filed a motion to dismiss. The court denied both motions. 

This case is ongoing. For more information, contact attorney MaryAnne Quill at mquill@kennedyhuntlaw.com.  If you or someone you know has been a victim of employment issues, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim.

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