Black History at Westminster College

The State Historical Society of Missouri compiled resources through a project titled "African American Heritage in the Ozarks". This interactive map shows primary and secondary sources related to African American life in the region.

The African American Experience in Missouri digital collection includes digitized manuscripts by or about African Americans, including personal papers, records of Black organizations and churches, and collections with significant information on African Americans, civil rights, and daily life.

This collection documents enslavement in the state of Missouri including letters, papers, ledgers, and wills. Documents include names, dates, locations, and ages of enslaved individuals, which provides invaluable information for historians and genealogists. Note that the materials in this collection contain racist and harmful language and document historical traumas associated with enslavement and racism.

The collection consists of interviews with people who attended Douglass and/or Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri. The collection consists of digitally recorded interviews, audio logs, and photographs. The collection is ongoing and open to interviews concerning any school and/or civil rights topic in Missouri. This collection can be requested to be viewed at the State Historical Society of Missouri research centers. Appointments are strongly encouraged to ensure that requested materials are available at the time of your visit.

The collection contains transcriptions and audio recordings of interviews with jazz musicians who played in Kansas City during the "Golden Age of Jazz" and other individuals familiar with Kansas City's jazz scene from 1924 to 1942. This collection can be requested to be viewed at the State Historical Society of Missouri research centers. Appointments are strongly encouraged to ensure that requested materials are available at the time of your visit.

Before and after the Emancipation Proclamation, formerly enslaved and free Black people built towns across the nation. A national research project shows that African Americans settled five little-known towns in the St. Louis region, and one of those cities — Kinloch — still exists.

The restoration of Boone’s home is a tribute to the residents of Columbia, music lovers everywhere, and the African-American community. The heritage of this inspirational and talented man ­– who lived and created many of his compositions in his 4th Street home – is a vital and important element in the history of our community. Revitalization of the home and gardens brings a resurgence of community pride in the heritage of yesterday and excitement about the future of Columbia.

Lloyd Lionel Gaines applied to the University of Missouri School of Law in 1936. Despite an outstanding scholastic record, Gaines was denied admission based solely on the grounds that Missouri’s Constitution called for “separate education of the races.” Because Missouri had no public law school that admitted Black applications, state law required the state to pay Gaines’ tuition at public universities in Iowa, Kansas or Nebraska. Attorneys from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) identified Gaines’ case as a good vehicle to begin the incremental process of challenging the ignominious precedent of “separate but equal” established in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. Together, they sued the University of Missouri seeking an order granting him admission to its Law School.

Lucile Bluford was a well-respected editor and publisher of the Kansas City Call, an important African American weekly newspaper. in 1939 she sued the University of Missouri after she was admitted to their Journalism graduate program, but denied upon arrival as they did not know she was Black. Her case finally made it to the Supreme Court in 1941, and the University of Missouri had to admit her because no equal program existed at Lincoln University. In response, the school closed its graduate program, claiming that it could not operate properly due to World War II. The State Historical Society digitized the collection of papers and correspondence regarding Bluford's case against MU.

The Mildred Wallhausen Papers contains various articles, correspondence, pictures, programs, and newsletters with a primary focus on local African American peoples in Southeast Missouri. Mildred Wallhausen was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 3, 1914, but was adopted by the Van de Waters and moved to Poplar Bluff, Missouri. While there, she worked for the Daily American Republic newspaper. This led to a long and successful career working in newspapers, and she had an award-winning weekly column called, "Millie's Soapbox,". Wallhausen worked tirelessly and personally to enhance the quality of life and to encourage participation in community affairs, with special emphasis on the minority population of southeast Missouri. She was a member of the NAACP and the Missouri County Community Churches organization. After her husband’s passing, she adopted a succession of young women who were wards of the juvenile court and provided a stable home environment for them.

Through compelling core exhibits, dynamic touring shows, and educational and entertaining public programs, The Groit's (pronounced gree-oh) mission is: “to create a community of lifelong learners who explore, experience and embrace the region's rich and enduring African-American heritage.