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Essay Directory
2007 - 2008 Essays
Liberty Ladies
College: A Modern Educational Experience
by Alyssa Emery
Liberty Rising:
the 1934 Fire
by Rachel Ibok
Zerelda Mimms James:
Lover of a
Bandit
by Lindsey Melvin
2006 - 2007 Essays
Convention City
by
Lilia Toson
David Rice Atchison:
A Champion of the
People
by
Jesus Lopez
Dr. Seymore Pearley -
Clay County's First
African American Dentist
by Hayley VanderStel
Humphrey “Yankee” Smith
by Jonathan Entzminger
Missouri City in Black and White
or
Rebuilding a Culture
by Devin DeMoure
The Drake Constitution: When Missouri White
Men Could Not Vote
by
Kali Shipley
The Other James Brother
by Madison McGraw
White Oak: A Tender Side
of the Racial
Divide
by
Evelaca Dobbins
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 Devin
DeMoure
enjoys the liberal arts training that he is getting as a writer at William
Jewell College. He began his studies in the area of technology, but more
recently realized that majoring in English and writing will allow him to
pursue many more areas of interest as a writer. History is an area that
Devin enjoys the most, from Ancient Rome to the Civil War and Post
Construction; Church History and Theology are also areas of his interest. As a
married senior at Jewell, Devin would like to find a career that will help
him continue to explore his interests and support his family.
Missouri City in Black
and White
Or
Rebuilding a Culture
Missouri City, MO- A small forest near the riverside hamlet of Missouri
City shrouds the wooden frame of what appears to be a barn. However, the
dilapidated structure has a story that has almost been forgotten. Local
historian and semi- retired Missouri City school superintendent, Jay
Jackson, recommended I research the Clay County Archives in order to
discover the story of that now ramshackle building. After opening an1877
atlas, and looking on the map at the area where I knew the old building
stands today, I saw the designation –“The Negro School.”
Mystery now inhabits the “Negro school.” One can imagine that in 1877, it
was a place where young African American minds spent many hopeful days
enjoying the new privilege of education in “the land of the free”, or for
them “the land of the recently freed.” The lessons to be learned
were not only in the classroom, but also outside the classroom.
For
the freed slaves, the Post-Civil War Reconstruction era introduced freedom
along with a new form of bondage. America would agree with Fredrick
Douglas when he said, "To educate a man is to unfit him to be a slave,"
and so those opposed to freedom for the slaves also opposed their
education. In neighboring St. Louis, a tenacious black leader, John
Meachum encountered such violent opposition that he took to the waters of
the Mississippi, steering the helm of a “floating school” for Negroes.
Others followed his example, and despite violent resistance by the late 19th
century black schools opened in a few northwestern Missouri towns. The
Clay County atlas of 1877 listed black schools in Liberty, Harlem,
Randolph and Missouri City.
Jay
Jackson, retired Superintendent of the Missouri City School, noted in an
interview that the social climate of Missouri City during Reconstruction
was one of intense hatred for blacks. However, even if there were no
specific instances of racial violence, both social and commercial scales
were weighted toward white interests.
Jackson gives the example of Harriet Sublett, an African American resident
who started Missouri City’s first black church. Mrs. Sublett raised
support for the church alone, but financial struggles on a small loan
taken out through a local Missouri City bank prompted foreclosure. The
foreclosure’s curt execution left many bewildered, including Harriet’s own
son who offered the bank the full amount of the deed with no avail. Thus,
Missouri City’s first and last African American church closed. Jackson
suggests that the bank may have been influenced by local business and a
small mining company who had interest in, and eventually used, the church
building.
But
how did this affect the Negro School? I saw a black and white photo of the
“Negro School” class of 1908 that showed less than a dozen students, and
like Harriet Sublett’s church, it too disappeared. People go where they
feel most accepted and are treated with some degree of dignity and
respect. For many African Americans safety and opportunity came in numbers
– south of the Missouri River.
During Jay Jackson’s term as Superintendent of Missouri City’s school,
Kansas City passed a “desegregation” policy for integrating the school
system. Jackson said when his school board members learned of the
program, “they volunteered to desegregate.” But the new program
experienced old biases. On the first day of desegregation, students being
transported from Kansas City encountered road signs with racial slurs
posted along their Missouri City bus route. “That day,” Jackson explained,
“many of the students opened up to talk about racism,” and the black
students still returned. When the case was dismissed and the program ended
in the summer of 2003, Jackson, along with his staff and the school board,
was disappointed. They missed the students who had been a part of their
school during the short time of desegregation, and wished that they could
still keep in touch with many of them. A few friendships continue among
the group today.
Jackson plans to rebuild the old “Negro” schoolhouse as soon as he can
find the funds. As he was explaining the details of the work that must be
done to insure authentic restoration, I recalled two pictures: the first,
the old black and white photo of the 1908 class at the “Negro” school, and
the second was the photo hanging in the entrance of the Missouri City
School of Jackson’s desegregated class of 2003. As I thought about those
students and the old “Negro” schoolhouse, it occurred to me that the
spring of 2008 would be Jackson’s second rebuilding project.
Works Cited
Green, Lorenzo, Gray R. Kremer, and Antonio F. Holland. Missouri’s Black
Heritage.
St. Louis: Forum Press, 1980.
Jay Jackson, personal
interview, January 2007.
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