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THE DRED AND HARRIET SCOTT RECONCILIATION FORUM
TO BE HELD AT
THE MARSHFIELD CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL APRIL 29, 2011

History comes alive once again at the 6th annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Marshfield, MO April 28-30th.   Noted for honoring famous Missourians, the festival will be the site of the first Dred and Harriet Scott Reconciliation Forum hosted by the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation.  Descendants of civil rights leaders, abolitionists, and founding presidents will be on the panel. Marshfield honored Dred Scott with a star on its Walk of Fame in 2007 making him the first African American to be installed. Read the press release for more information.









THE DRED AND HARRIET SCOTT

For the sixth year in a row, in the small town of Marshfield, MO, descendants of famous people including presidents, pioneers of the civil rights movement, political historians, and friends and residents will get together once again to honor famous Missourians and share what they are doing to honor the legacy of their ancestors.   Inspired by the cherry blossoms in DC, a young Nicholas Inman decided to have a Cherry Blossom Festival in the heart of the country.   Nicholas has chaired the festival for 6 years now and has yet to see his 30th birthday.  He and the town of Marshfield have created an historic venue that the residents in the 1800s would never have dreamed of.  In 2006, the town planted its first cherry blossom tree and the rest is, well, history.

The festival honors the state of Missouri and famous Missourians.  In 2007, they honored Dred Scott among seven others with a star in their new Walk of Fame.  Lynne Jackson was present to accept the honor and has been attending ever since.  The community, descendants and historians will join her this year at the first Dred and Harriet Scott Reconciliation Forum.   The forum participants include descendants of Dred Scott, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Thomas and Martha Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemming, Jefferson Davis, and John McLean, one of two dissenting justices in the Dred Scott Case.  The 2:30 p.m. program follows the 2011 Walk of Fame Presentation at the CrossBridge Church in Marshfield.

At 6:30 p.m.,  The Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative will be presented posthumously to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to Lynne M. Jackson, great-great-granddaughter of Dred and Harriet and founder of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation.  Accepting for   Dr. King will be his niece, Dr. Alveda King. The awards dinner will be held at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Tickets are $20.00.

The Festival runs from Thursday, April 28 beginning with Donnie Kendrick (Mary Todd Lincoln descendant) through Saturday, April 30.   Saturday morning starts with a prayer breakfast with one of the 2011 Walk of Fame honorees, Donna Douglas (Ellie Mae Clampett from The Beverly Hillbillies) followed by a Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.  Shannon Lanier (Thomas Jefferson), Lynne Jackson (Dred Scott), Bertram Hayes-Davis (Jefferson Davis), Ken Hechler (Roosevelt and Truman Administrations) and George Cleveland (President Grover Cleveland) will present.

Saturday afternoon, the Presidential Forum will feature many descendants who return annually for the reunion in Marshfield.  The Philharmonics will return this year, a favorite among the attendees.  "There is something very special about this gathering," said Lynne Jackson.  "Each year, a sense of unity and purpose has built up that everyone senses is about the future.  It is the great venue for our first Dred and Harriet Scott Reconciliation Forum."

Many other festival activities and guests are listed on the website at www.cherryblossomfest.com.  For more information on the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation visit  www.thedredscottfoundation.org. The public is invited.

Click here to see forum participants.