About Floating Freedom Foundation
We preserve history, expand access to education, and bring communities together, across faiths and backgrounds.
Our name honors the Floating Freedom School and the sacrifices made to advance Black education and freedom.
A shared commitment
A Baptist minister inspired our name. A Black American Muslim founded our foundation. We see something meaningful in that connection: the fight for educational access, dignity, and opportunity has always been bigger than any one community.
Some of our programs center Black American Muslim history and experiences. Others are secular and welcome participants of every faith and background. Through education, collaboration, and honest conversation, we work to challenge Islamophobia and other forms of prejudice while building stronger community ties.
Different paths brought us here. The responsibility to make room for one another is shared.
The story behind our name
In St. Louis, Reverend John Berry Meachum, a Black Baptist minister and educator, taught free and enslaved Black people to read and write. When Missouri outlawed their education in 1847, he refused to abandon his students. A steamboat on the Mississippi River became a school beyond the reach of that state law. His wife, Mary Meachum, was also deeply involved in educating Black communities and helping people pursue freedom.
The Meachums helped Black learners gain knowledge in a time when the law sought to deny it.
The river offered a way to continue teaching when the classroom on land was shut down.
We honor that legacy by widening opportunity and preserving the stories too often left untold.
The people behind the legacy
The Floating Freedom School is one chapter in a larger story of faith, education, resistance, and the determination of Black families to secure their own futures.
Baptist minister · Educator
Born into slavery, John Berry Meachum gained his freedom and became a minister, skilled tradesman, and teacher. He built educational opportunities for Black people in St. Louis, then helped carry those lessons onto the Mississippi River when Missouri tried to close the doors of their classrooms.
Educator · Abolitionist
Mary Meachum worked alongside her husband to support Black education and freedom. After his death, she continued that work through the Underground Railroad. Her role in an attempted freedom crossing in 1855 is remembered today at the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing site in St. Louis.
What the legacy looks like today
Our programs serve different needs, but share a belief in education, cultural understanding, and the power of communities to shape their futures.
Through BMAAP, we work to safeguard Black American Muslim history and make community memories more accessible to future generations.
Àbulę, Freedom Schools, and our educational initiatives create opportunities for learning, literacy, and connection across backgrounds.
Our book club, Ukhtī, and community initiatives make space for conversation, collaboration, and mutual support, including efforts that help neighbors understand one another across faiths.
There is a place for you here
You do not have to share the same faith or background to share in the work. Bring your curiosity, ideas, time, or support. There is room to build something meaningful together.
Get involvedRead more about the Meachums and the Floating Freedom School through the Missouri Encyclopedia, the Steamship Historical Society, and the City of St. Louis historic preservation records. Portrait illustrations on this page are artistic representations.
