Celia Day & Human Trafficking Awareness Week 2026
sexual ASSAULT awareness month (SAAM)
“From history to action — Missouri stands united against Sexual Assault & human trafficking.”
April 7–10 & April 18, 2026 | State of Missouri
Led by the Celia Newsom Legacy Foundation (CNLF), Celia Day & Human Trafficking Awareness Week is Missouri’s official statewide observance established through Senate Bill 348 (the “Celia Bill”). The Foundation extends sincere appreciation to Governor Mike Kehoe for signing the bill into law and to Senator Travis Fitzwater for sponsoring and championing this historic legislation. The Foundation also recognizes Senator Brian Williams, whose advocacy over the years — including introducing the humanity education bill in Celia’s honor in 2024 and continuing to champion the effort — helped elevate Celia’s story within the General Assembly and laid important groundwork for the passage of SB 348.
Observed during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), the week honors the legacy of Celia by connecting Missouri’s history of sexual violence to present-day exploitation. In partnership with the Coalition Against Rape & Domestic Violence (CARDV) the Coalition Against Trafficking & Exploitation (CATE), the Stop Human Trafficking Coalition of Central Missouri, the Missouri Network Against Child Abuse, the State Historical Society of Missouri, the St. Louis African American History & Genealogy Society, the Missouri Historical Society, the Crime Victim Center of St. Louis, the Covering House and community partners statewide, this initiative transforms historical truth into education, accountability, and survivor-centered action.
Why This Week Matters
Celia Day & Human Trafficking Awareness Week represent Missouri’s commitment to confronting its history while strengthening modern systems of protection. Celia’s story is not symbolic — it is instructional. This week bridges remembrance with reform, ensuring that legal recognition leads to meaningful, survivor-centered change.
Event Partners
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 | Celia Day: From History to Survivor Protection (Signature Event)
2nd Floor Old Courtroom | Callaway County Courthouse | 10 E 5th St., Fulton, MO 65251
Hosted by CNLF, CARDV and CATE, Celia Day anchors Missouri’s Human Trafficking Awareness Week with a signature, place-based program in Fulton that connects history, law, and present-day survivor protection.
Program Highlights | 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Remarks from State Leaders, the 13th Judicial Circuit of Missouri (Callaway County), and the City of Fulton
Historical Reflection Keynote
Connecting History to Today’s Systems
Survivor Voices (centered, protected, empowered)
Margaret Bush Wilson Celia Champion Awards
Lunch on the Lawn (sponsored by CARDV) 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Registration: Event Registration Form
Note: Registration closes Friday, April 3, 2026.
Dr. Gary R. Kremer
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Gary R. Kremer is Executive Director Emeritus of the State Historical Society of Missouri
and a leading historian of Missouri’s racial history. For nearly four decades, he has researched, taught,
and publicly presented Celia’s story—supporting early scholarship, guiding students to the historic site,
organizing public programs and vigils, and advocating for recognition of the injustice she endured.
Wednesday, April 8 | The Legacy of Celia Newsom– Human Rights Education Workshop
Statewide Virtual Event
3:30PM to 5:00 PM
This statewide virtual program, hosted by the State Historical Society of Missouri, features Dr. Traci Wilson-Kleekamp in a combined scholarly presentation and curriculum workshop. The session centers on a re-examination of the historical case of Celia, highlighting how her voice and actions constituted an act of radical resistance against the sustained sexual violence inflicted by her enslaver, Robert Newsom. Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, President of the Celia Newsom Legacy Foundation (CNLF) will also provide updates on the foundation’s ongoing work to advance modern justice and public engagement. Designed to support historical thinking, the program invites educators to critically revisit and reinterpret Celia’s story through engagement with primary sources, including digitized circuit court records and the Missouri Supreme Court case Missouri v. Celia, a slave. Additional materials are available here:
Registration: Event Registration Form
Note: Registration closes Friday, April 3, 2026.
Dr. Traci Wilson-Kleekamp
Featured Presenter: Dr. Traci Wilson-Kleekamp, Education Committee Chairman, Celia Newsom Legacy Foundation
Dr. Traci Wilson-Kleekamp is a recent PhD graduate of the University of Missouri, College of Education, successfully defending her dissertation, Celia ‘Newsom’ — A Radical Resister (May, 2025). Her research focuses on critical family history and the power dynamics within families that shape identity. For more than two decades, Dr. Wilson-Kleekamp has researched the story of Celia, sought out descendants, and used the tools of academic scholarship to affirm Celia’s humanity. She is the author of “Descendants of Celia and Robert Newsom Speak” (2020), the first scholarly investigation of the intergenerational memory of both Black and white descendants of Robert Newsom using critical family history. She studies narrative erasures that distort histories of minoritized individuals—especially African American women and children—and has presented her research at the University of Missouri, through the College of Education and the Department of Women and Gender Studies.
Friday, April 10 | Human Trafficking & Sexual Assault awareness & Prevention Training
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM | Callaway Electric Coop, 1313 Cooperative Drive, Fulton, MO 65251
Joint Human Trafficking & Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Training sponsored by CARDV, the Stop Human Trafficking Coalition of Central Missouri and the Missouri Network Against Child Abuse. Designed to equip community members to recognize and respond to exploitation of both youth and adults.
Outline:
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM: Trafficking of youth and adults
11:00 AM to Noon: Human Trafficking prevention
Noon to 1:00 PM: Lunch Provided
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM: SA/HT Current Topics
Registration: Event Registration Form
Note: Registration closes Friday, April 3, 2026.
Saturday, April 18 | From Celia’s Trial to Modern Justice: Missouri’s Anti-Trafficking Summit (Missouri-East Culminating Event)
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM | Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium (Lower Level) 5700 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63112
Serving as the Missouri-East anchor of Human Trafficking Awareness Week, this culminating event is hosted by the St. Louis African American History & Genealogy Society and the Missouri Historical Society. The event begins with a documented examination of Celia’s 1855 trial and the legal system that normalized sexual violence under bondage—exploitation that began when Celia was only fourteen. The program then explores how the intertwined legacies of violence and survival are carried forward across generations, including through genetic inheritance. A moderated panel featuring frontline service providers and anti-trafficking leaders will connect the antebellum system of coercion and denied bodily autonomy to modern human trafficking in Missouri. Through historical analysis, lived experience, and systems-level discussion, the program highlights how contemporary trafficking evolved from earlier structures of power and abuse while affirming the endurance, resilience, and dignity of those who came before us.
Registration: Event Registration Form
Note: Registration closes Friday, April 10, 2026.
