PEORIA MAGAZINE December 2022

S P O T L I G H T

ANOTHER LANDMARK LEARNING OPPORTUNITY Peorian Preston Jackson’s Freedom Suits Memorial reveals a chapter of St. Louis’ long-forgotten history

BY PHIL LUCIANO A s an artist, Preston Jackson has become a historian. The Peoria sculptor and painter often strives not only for aesthetics, but meaning and truth — especially regarding civil rights. Even if painful, he says, the truth is important. ‘IT'S ALL FOR THE BETTERMENT ... THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH’ “It’s all for the betterment — of womankind, mankind, human beings – that we understand the truth,” said Jackson, 78. “And my only tool – or my only weapon, if you want to call it that – is to put it on canvas or in bronze.” That ’s why he spent f ive years intensely working on an ambitious and impressive sculpture that was unveiled this summer in downtown St. Louis. It’s the FreedomSuits Memorial, dedicated to hundreds of slaves whowent to court to try to win their freedom. Jackson is grateful for his role in shedding light on a brave and vital struggle that had gone largely unknown. — Artist Preston Jackson

“I was very happy to be part of the discovery, something new in history,” he said. For Jackson, history is a newer avocation. He never gave the subject much thought while growing up in Decatur with nine siblings. As a young man, he was more interested playing guitar and creating art. After graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Southern Illinois University, Jackson became an instructor in drawing and painting at Millikin University, then an art professor at Western Illinois University. In 1989, he joined the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a professor of sculpture, serving as head of the Sculpture Department from 1994 to 1996. Since 1995, he has owned The Raven Gallery in downtown Peoria, home of the Contemporary Art Center. His sculptures have been displayed throughout central Illinois and beyond. Among the most notable, “Bronzeville to Harlem: An American Story” is on permanent display at Peoria Riverfront Museum. In 1998, The Lincoln Academy of Illinois presented himwith the Order of Lincoln, the state’s highest honor.

20 DECEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE