Missouri was a slave-holding state originally and considered historically Confederate; however, it was an anomaly too. In today’s parlance it was closer to a “Purple State” with several areas being pro-slavery and others being abolitionist.
Marceline appears to have been a kind of uneasy oasis in a turbulent sea of racism in the northcentral region of Missouri.
After Emancipation, there was a report Marceline had a “Negro Boarding” home in the downtown business district area. Nothing appears to be known about this property, however, such as when it was opened or when it was razed, but it does show on the 1894 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps behind the pool room at the corner of Gracia and Kansas. The property had been razed by the 1902 Sanborn Map. No reports about this property have been found in any of the city’s archives or newspapers; further research may uncover where the boarders came from and what changed in the area that resulted in the home to be in Marceline. However, it would be presumptive and conjecture to guess what having a boarding house conveys about the citizens and government of Marceline before more information is located. Nothing in Marceline appears in the Green Book; whether that means there were no minority boarding houses or those businesses didn’t advertise is unknown. There was an apparently very popular restaurant run by an African American family on the south side of Marceline’s downtown business district called “The Hole in the Wall” which might have simply not advertised.
Soon after Emancipation, Black children were allowed to get an education. One early account states that the Black kids had a school in a carpenter’s shop in the 1890s.[20] Within the context of Black education in Marceline, the school received almost yearly recognition in news articles. Schools for black children in surrounding cities and counties did not enjoy the same publicity. For example, a search for “Lincoln School”, “colored school”, “negro school” and “black school” returned no results for Chillicothe. However, Brookfield, about 15 minutes northeast of Marceline, would often mention their Park School. It was featured in local newspapers as prominently as Marceline’s Lincoln School.
Additionally, Marceline began desegregating its high school in 1953,[21] a year prior to Brown. This move illustrates the attitude the city government, citizens and school board all had: That the law must be followed.
While it would be conjecture and speculation to assume the Black citizens’ perspective regarding this, advertisements in the local newspapers offer hints at the way life was for Black Marcelineans. For example, black owned businesses, like “Hole in the Wall”, run by “Grant Bradshaw, a colored man [who] knows how to run a first class [sic] place” where advertised as early as 1914.[22] This restaurant was in a prominent part of Marceline’s downtown commercial district, located at 116 S. Kansas Ave. (now known as S. Main Street USA). This location is part of the southern part the downtown commercial district and would have been five buildings south of the Cater Opera House, which sat on the corner of Howell and Kansas. The Marceline Herald also published the death notice of Reverend C. A. Graham, the pastor of the “colored Baptist Church.”[23]
In 1918, The Marceline Herald printed two articles about a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation. Both were part of the lead headlines. One article boldly proclaims “The stroke of the pen which loosed the shackles of four million slaves, in the hands of the immortal Lincoln, will be fittingly and patriotically celebrated by the colored folks of Marceline on Saturday, August 3, this year. “Colored People Celebrate Saturday.”[24] A second article states the celebration will be “in the park adjoining the Central School [the white school in Marceline], the colored people of Marceline and surrounding country will hold a celebration of their emancipation from the shackles of slavery.”[25]
Other lead headlines discussed a convention of “Negro Baptists” in town (1918), a “colored church rally” (1919), and a “Negro Glee Club” held at the Christian Church (1928). Thus, stories about African American people, businesses and events in the city were not uncommon.
Articles even included reports about one area-famous black man named Memford “Wampus” Andrews. One discusses how the “colored citizens of Marceline have taken cognizance of the deplorable condition, mentally, of one of their number” by asking the city council to place Wampus “in an institute for the feeble minded” over concerns he might lose control of his mind and commit crimes.[26] Four years later, Wampus is celebrated and a letter from him is even published on the front page of The Marceline Herald.[27] Positive articles and mentions of black residents far outweighed the negative in the Marceline area. In nearby areas, this was not such the case.
Outside of Marceline, things seemed more dire for people of color. While the newspaper in Brookfield often publicized the Park School’s events, there were moments of outright racism that were published. The KKK of Brookfield, for example, sometimes advertised in The Marceline Herald.[28] In another community, a column in the Chariton Courier threatened that the “Negro” should learn their place and be thankful for what whites give them.[29]
Anecdotal evidence exists too. Jack White, a white man, said his parents told him of a former slave in the 1920s and 1930s who kids would flock around to listen to him tell stories of his time as a slave and to look at the scars from the shackles that restrained him. According to White, the man was well-respected. White men tipped their hats at him out of respect, and any child caught saying something rude to him was immediately chastised and an apology issued to the gentleman.[30] However, there appears to be no information on this man and no newspaper references have been found that give details that could identify him. Further research is required to find out anything about him.
Thus, by all accounts, the Black population prior to the period of significance (1930-1954), if newspaper accounts are to be trusted, show the city appeared to be cognizant of the contributions of their African American citizens. However, more research for the timeframe prior to the period of significance is required to formulate a more precise conclusion.
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