People don't know that when that lawsuit was filed, the Negro school teachers association had made a collection, just in case. Festus decided to fire her while they were following the lawsuit. The paper wrote about how you can take it all the way to the Supreme Court. But that doesn't change the fact that the teachers are being underpaid, and they should be paid just as much as the white teachers are being paid. She actually I think was being paid like $765 a year. It's amazing to me how times have changed, because I think minimum wage at that time was 30 cents an hour. But some of the teachers that didn't have it agree were being paid over $1,000 A year
before schools began being integrated in the 1950s. African American kids in the small towns near St. Louis, Missouri didn't have access to all grades. Or if they did, they'd often have to travel long distances to a school that taught black students to the grade levels that white students were taught. From the early 1900s. Into the 60s, this area served as a proving ground not only in the courts, as teachers and students tested the legality of their segregation, but also in the classroom. This is random acts of knowledge presented by Heartland Community College. Today, we're looking at the history of the first high school created for African Americans in Festus, Missouri, near St. Louis. Today's guest is author of a new book about the history of education in that area.
My name is DeWitt Bingham, and I am an instructor here at Heartland Community College where I've been teaching for 23 years probation officer by profession where I've been servicing the community for 33 years.
So your book, The Douglass connection focuses on an African American School near St. Louis. Correct. It's a school that eventually changed and evolved at an important point in civil rights history in the years before schools were integrated in that area. Yes. What led you to write about this school?
Well, I always wanted to do something for back home. I've been service in this community and a public servant in this community for over 30 years. And I said, I'd really like to do something for my hometown, and that they would be proud of, and create a pathway to be able to give back like I did here at Heartland Community College, by creating the Viola Liuzzo scholarship. I've done that now in Festus. And so there's going to be a scholarship there. And my grandfather's name, Warren Bingham, who was one of the first five graduates from the first high school graduate writing class at Douglas. And so I'm really, really proud about that. Go having
Douglas create an all black high school was kind of a big deal at the time. So the Douglas school began wide around 1900 desk array as a primary school, yes, went up to what eighth grade went up to 10th grade 10th grade. But after 10th grade, there was no opportunity for African Americans in that area to continue their education at the high school level, right?
That's correct. Yes, you had actually traveled to St. Louis, to complete your high school diploma, Douglass went up to the 10th grade. And as matter of fact, my grandfather, who was in first graduating class, he actually did his junior year at Sumner High School. And then that's when Dr. Shropshire created the 11th and 12th grade. And then 1940 was the first graduating class.
So in the late 30s, how far did people from Festus net area have to travel to try to go to high school?
Yes, they had traveled up to 30 miles just to go to high school and sometimes would get there the best way that they could, they would hit you, right? And coming from Bonterra, Missouri, which was like 25 or 30 miles south of St. Louis.
So when this high school was created, what was the distance that students had to travel then?
Festus then the kids actually were right there in local community, after the high school was created, then the other towns that Douglass service, which was like 11 towns, they actually began to allow their African American students to attend the local white schools at that time as well.
One of the things I think that your work here highlights is that access to education really can make a huge difference in the heights that people could reach that there were a number of high achieving people that somehow made that path, either through Douglas as students or to Douglas as teachers. I want you to talk a little bit about the impact you saw of this school and access to a full high school age. Haitian for African Americans in this period. And what that meant then to the people that you learned about or maybe even knew a little about,
yes, one of the four all stars that I call them Bernie's Thompson, as a matter of fact, because the high school only went up to the 10th grade, she actually sits out a couple of years before she's able to actually go to the 11th grade. So then she enrolls, and she actually is a part of the second graduating class at 1941. Well, after she graduates, high school, she goes on to Lincoln University, which is chapter one of the book, I start out talking about the two black colleges in Missouri, which was the only option if you want to further your education in Missouri Lincoln University and Harrisdale State University. Well, she goes on to Lincoln University, and gets her undergraduate degree. And then she comes back to Douglas and teaches. And so she not only was a student, but she actually went on to college as a result of being able to graduate from Douglas, and then comes back to teach. And then she's one of the four African American teachers at Douglas, that Mr. Times the who I call the greatest humanitarian and Superintendent Festus has ever had, actually integrates her along with three other teachers into Festus High School, which is where I graduated in 1980. And so that, to me, actually impacted my life, it abled me, and created a pathway for me to actually be integrated into the fastest school with no problems. And growing up, I had no idea of any of this information. And my grandfather who actually passed a kidney disease, I actually did dialysis with him until he passed away. But we never had those conversations about Douglas. We never had the conversations about education, but always would run through the playground where the abandoned Douglas school was, which was like a block from my house. And so I miss Thompson, along with Mr. McCullough, who was my football coach and Miss McCullough, they actually became teachers at first, but I actually never knew Miss Gill, who I have many arguments with. It was the one who said, Take this typing class. And it ended up helping me and my current job that I do now as a probation officer typing reports for the court. But I just feel like I had to do something to honor them and to recognize Festus and Douglas. And the people that actually reared me, as I love them so much
in I guess it would have been the mid 50s. That area became integrated.
Yes. And what I like to always talk about is the fact that it was a smooth transition again, Dr. times, he didn't just talk to the teachers at that time about what he might do, or I'm not sure what we're going to do. But he came in and said, No, this is what we're going to do. We're actually going to bring Miss McCullough over four years, she's going to teach a typing class. And then after that, it was integrated right away. And as recent as 2016, the court still has been intervening in the south in regard to integration because of race. And
it's really interesting to think about how that area you could have an integrated school, and it was relatively, as you say, smooth. And then not only that, but then when you had the integrated school, you also had an integrated teaching staff. This was probably the first time some of the white kids go into that school probably ever saw an African American person, kind of in a position of authority. Was that common at that time to see the teaching staff integrated when this process was going about?
No, it wasn't common. And I think the most kind words, I guess you could say, the most beautiful language in the book is written by this Bernese Thompson's former student who actually writes for the local paper there. And this book would not have been able to be written without the beautiful writings of her and her husband. But she talks about how Miss Bernice Thompson gave out hugs, like she gave out spelling tests, and how she benefited from those hugs. And she in the article describes everything about what she was about what she did, and then in the end says, but she was black, and everybody knew it. But again, you know, I believe because of the heart of the people being open and accepting to what Dr. Times was trying to do that it just that's the reason why I went so smoothly. There are
a few benchmarks of people that you write about in your book when it comes to to the challenges of civil rights. and trying to assert an equal opportunity. And another high school teacher at Douglas Douglas High School. It's Emma Jane Lee, what can you tell us about her?
Yes, she actually was teaching in 1943 when they filed suit against the festa school board. And she actually had been teaching at Douglas for about six years. And she actually, too, was a graduate of Lincoln University. She come from St. Louis, Missouri. And people don't know that. When that lawsuit was filed, the Negro school teachers association had made a collection, just in case, Festus decided to fire her while they were filing the lawsuit. But the 22 board members, all Caucasian that sit on the board said, No, we're not going to do that. And not only was the school board, but all the citizens of Festus were in support of it. The paper wrote about how you could take it all the way to the Supreme Court. But that doesn't change the fact that the teachers are being underpaid, and they should be paid just as much as the white teachers were being paid.
Her lawsuit was all about equal payment, because the black teachers were not being paid the same to teach in the School of Douglas, as much as the other white teachers were taught in the in the white school.
Correct. And she actually I think, was being paid like $765 a year. It's amazing to me how times have changed. Because I think minimum wage at that time of writing the book was 30 cent an hour. But some of the teachers that didn't have a degree were being paid over $1,000 a year. And so that was the main reason why, why they filed the lawsuit.
That pretty brave move. She did, however, have some pretty good legal help.
Yes, she did. Yes, who I call the greatest attorney, lawyer and judge to ever walk the face of this earth. Thurgood Marshall actually was co counsel with a man by the name of David Grant, who also well, he was from St. Louis. And he actually experienced the things that during that time, of seeing, just like Bernie's Thompson, seeing Caucasian people walk by their home, and being able to attend the school right across the street or right in the neighborhood. But they had to go, you know, he had to go away across town and St. Louis to be able to attend school. And as matter of fact, he wants to go to Washington University to go to school. But he you can't go to University of Missouri Wash U or St. Louis, you. So he ends up going to Howard University, which is where the great Charles Houston is actually head of the law school there. And he actually teaches them to not just procedure about the law, but he teaches them how to fight against segregation, particularly. And so David grant and Thurgood Marshall are co counsel and representing the fastest school teachers.
So how far along did Emma Jane Lee's lawsuit get?
It didn't get very far at all, because the fastest school board during that time, I like to think I think that that's just the way it was, you know, they actually had questions and we're saying, Well, we, you know, haven't discriminate against you, or we're not paying you less because you're African American. And I like to think that that was just the metal way that people thought at that time. So they had questions about, you know, the lawsuit being filed. And in my heart, I believe that they really didn't mean any harm, and which is the reason why they end up settling. And they ended up saying, Well, hey, we're going to actually pay you more than what you are earning now. And as a matter of fact, they actually, right away, try to settle the case and eventually do.
This is the first example of somebody stepping up to challenge the status quo when it came to equal pay there. But it's probably one of the things that you're trying to highlight with the Douglass connection being the title of your book, how many other things got the ball rolling from the creation of the Douglas High School to the integration into Festus High School, it's not in the long scope of things a huge amount of time 1930s to 19, late 1950s. But there were a lot of things that would then happen because the students could attend all the way up to the 12th grade. That kind of set a good example for the larger community. And one of those things that you highlight is athletics. There were strides that the student athletes could make that I guess, started to make connections did The athletes at Douglas High School play only other black teams, or did they play white schools as well.
They only played black teams all the way up until 1950. And they were allowed to actually compete in the state track and field championships. And so I talk about in a book and what like you said, one of my main points is to show how Festus is progressive because I really believe that Festus and Douglas is really a model of how to come together in terms of race relations. And in 1950, they got to compete at the state level against white athletes, and they won a state championship in 1950. And they also won a state championship in 1953.
That's pretty impressive. And you also highlight that, in that area. It had an influence on some of the other athletes and other people that then eventually got to play in integrated teams in that region.
Correct. When I went home for the festival event a couple of weeks ago, it was great to see the legendary coach did Cook, who actually was a teammate of Richard bias of Benny Evans and Don Riney, who played in 1956. Crystal City. If you can think of Crystal City and Festus just like Bloomington Normal. There was the star Negro school in Crystal City. And then there was Douglas, and they were divided by a stoplight just like Bloomington is divided by Division Street. And so the star Negro students went to Crystal City High School. And then of course, the Douglas students went to Festus High School. Well, Coach Cook, who was legendary coach in Crystal City is a reason why I wanted to play football because he was a great coach. And he actually talks about how, in 1956, when they actually became his teammate, they were his teammates, he didn't care about the color of their skin, you only judge them by the content of their character just like Dr. King would say, you know, and during that dispensation, also, Senator Bradley also played at Crystal City. And legend has it that he actually played with a guy by the name of Melvin Dukes, Melbourne, Jean Dukes, who was also a good player. And Bill Bradley, of course a Rhodes Scholar, great athlete, Hall of Famer, you know, New York Knicks legend, two time NBA star actually would tell those who wanted to give him a scholarship to give it to Jean Dukes. And so, you know, to me, that is just awesome the relationship that they had during a period of time where, you know, blacks and whites really didn't sociate, particularly down south. And so I just think that that is awesome. Crystal City and Festus actually has that type of reputation.
Well, let's wrap up by talking about one other figure that you cover in your book. Tell us about Lloyd Gaines. And again, this is somebody who filed a lawsuit, what led Lloyd Gaines to the point where he did decide to try to
file this lawsuit. Okay, that is 90, around 1936. When he actually filed the lawsuit, he too was a Lincoln University, blue Tiger just like myself. And he actually, you know, had established himself as an honors student at Lincoln University, and he wanted to go to law school. And so he applies at the University of Missouri. And, of course, University of Missouri rejects him. The name of the cases gains versus Canada, Canada, who is the register actually sends him a letter saying, which was the state law that you know, because you are Negro you can't attend. And so I also talk about in that process, or as I'm talking about that in the book, how Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, and all of those who fought in those particular cases, they actually use a scheme that was actually created by a guy by the name of Nathan margul, The Morgan Report, which basically, strategy was to try to fight segregation through education. And so the lawsuit was filed on his behalf. And it goes all the way up to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court rules and says that either University of Missouri has to admit him, or they have to actually create a place where he can actually study law. And so they actually create kind of a makeshift Law School in St. Louis. And so they actually were going to go back to court, Thurgood Marshall and along with Charles Houston and NAACP, going to take it back to him court to prove that that was not the quality of education that Lloyd Gaines could really be receiving at the University of Missouri. And so, again, it makes it all the way to the Supreme Court. But then Lloyd gains goes missing.
That's a very interesting and kind of disturbing part of the story. So, so yes, it gets to this point where he wins the lawsuit, at least to the point where they, they said they had to offer, at the same time still a segregated option for law school in your area. So Lloyd Gaines at this time, he's he's not going to school. He's moving back and forth from like Chicago, St. Louis, speaking at events, taking on odd jobs, and then just just vanishes.
Right, right. He actually leaves his fraternity brothers home, and he says that he's actually going to go out for stamps, then nobody ever sees him again, a couple of the authors from the University of Missouri, Don't speculate just like good academia and shouldn't do. But they say that, you know, some of the people believe that he got simply got tired of the case, and he actually just left the country. But I hardly believe that that was the case. But that's just me, you know, speculating? Well, yeah,
I think it's just as likely that high profile litigant in a civil rights case going missing might there might be something fishy about that at that time. That was in 3019 39. Yes. So yeah, I would wonder, I believe this case was never solved in any way. They never found him.
That's correct. It remains open. Yeah, yeah, it remains open. The thing that I love about it, though, is how the University of Missouri has really paid homage to him. And in many ways, they've named the center their postures, Miss Lee Ward, him law license in the state of Missouri, and a couple of other things. So they have done some things to actually acknowledge his courage for what he did.
Can you elaborate on the Douglass connection as it goes to this case?
Yes, I start out the chapter asking the question or making a statement? Well, you probably wondering what the connection is with that. And it's simply that he's an NYU grad. And he's African American is just that simple. But, you know, I've wanted to actually show that, for example, without a Thurgood Marshall, there will be no gains versus Canada, there will be no Pearson, Murray versus Pearson, there will be no imaging Lee versus the Board of fastest there will there will be no Brown versus Board of Education Without Thurgood Marshall. So Douglas infestors will forever be connected to Gaines, Thurgood Marshall, Charles Houston, and the like.
And I think it also shows that without something like the Douglas school being created in 1900, all the way up through this case, which eventually allowed for African Americans to go to law school, you know that, that is the pathway that creates the next Thurgood Marshall, you know, all these stops without these schools without these people trying to challenge the status quo, limit the education of African Americans in that area. First, they can only go not at all, then 19 After 1900, they can go up until the 10th grade. And then they can do go through the 12th grade, then they can go to you know, historical black colleges, after they've graduated the 10th grade, and then go to law school, eventually, those are all things where it was a lot harder to complete, whatever level of education that you wanted to, until these people made an effort for people to get an education.
So appreciate you making that correlation, because that is very true. And I like to think that Festus and Douglas has played has played a part in the process of integration and establishing more opportunities for African American people and race relations being better particularly in that area. I will too I go to my grave. Continue to say that Festus is and Douglas, you know, as a model for integration, because like I said, once I got the festers, I had no everything had already the work had already been done for me. Even before then, when I went to Crystal City elementary school up until the fifth grade. I had no idea that there was, you know, segregation. So I just think that they played a very important part in establishing that.
Was there anything that surprised you when you were doing this research, learning about the history, the area about your grandfather's experience that you didn't know, before you started?
Well, the only thing that really surprised me was The Emma Jane Lee case actually knew nothing about her. But I was able to interview Dr. Sharp chars daughter and get a lot of information from her. Having talked about Dr. Sharp, sharp, but he was amazing man, you know, the fact that he actually talk to the local parents for like seven years just trying to motivate them to have the courage and the interest to be able to come together to create the 11th and 12th grade and then talking with the white administrators from Jefferson County and surrounding area to get them to buy into the 11th and 12th grade. And so, just to Emma Jane Lee, and the courage that she had, it just really grabbed me when I was actually doing this.
It's really interesting to see all these connections to it. Thank you so much for coming in and talking about this.
Appreciate it, Steve, thanks for having me,
too, with being on as a criminal justice professor at Heartland Community College and the author of the Douglas connection. If you're interested in hearing more interviews about history, education, and more, subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you found this podcast. Thanks for listening
