John Berry Meachum Scholarship
The John Berry Meachum Scholarship is named in honor of the achievements of John Berry Meachum (1789-1854) a pastor, businessman, educator and founder of the oldest black church in Missouri. He was born into slavery but purchased his freedom at age 21.
Meachum dedicated much of his life to the pursuit of educational opportunities for black people in St. Louis. He circumvented a Missouri state law that banned education for black people by creating the Floating Freedom School on a steamboat in the Mississippi River, which was outside the law’s jurisdiction. After the Civil War, he founded the Lincoln Institute; the first school in Missouri to provide for the higher education of black students.
To apply for this scholarship, use . Students who have already received the maximum amount of aid, including loans, for the current academic year will have their loans reduced to accommodate this award.
John Berry Meachum Scholarship Recipient
Second-year Medical Student
Past Scholarship Recipients
Aaron Dotson
Fourth-year Medical Student
Tajhshea Walden
Second-year Medical Student