Black history takes center stage in February

By Jazmine Knight

In a town rich with African American entrepreneurs, entertainers, inventors and political leaders, celebrating Black History Month is key to highlighting stories that otherwise might go unknown, local community leaders say.

Loes Hedge, a Black Archives Museum committee member, said history taught through textbooks can leave out the experiences of many, including Black people. That’s why it’s important to seek out other sources to get the full story.

“History validates people,” she said. “We have to look at the good, the bad and the ugly.”

She said her philosophy on history is that it’s meant to tell people, “I was here, I am here and I will be here.”

St. Joseph’s Black Archives Museum at 3406 Frederick Ave. features pivotal points from the early 1800s onward, including slavery, the Civil War, segregation, integration and modern history, told through the stories and perspectives of local Blacks.

Some notable individuals highlighted include Coleman Hawkins, known as the father of the tenor saxophone, Charles Baker, who invented the friction heater, and Kelsy Beshears, who worked as an activist, founded the NAACP in St. Joseph and organized multiple sit-ins during the time of segregation.

For Black Archives president, Gary Wilkinson, some of the featured individuals are close to home.

“The couple that you see here is my great-grandmother, my great-grandfather, Amos Stillman, Elizabeth Stillman. At that time was Elizabeth Harvey. She was enslaved on a farm near Chillicothe in Missouri,” Wilkinson said.

One picture in the museum shows the aftermath of the lynching of Lloyd Warner. The young man was accused of sexually abusing a young white girl in 1933. Once word spread, a crowd of more than 7,000 people gathered outside the jail begging officers to release Warner so he could suffer their consequences. At about 11 p.m. officers surrendered to the crowd and released Warner, who was then dragged, hung and set on fire. Witnesses believe that he was burned alive.

Another important piece of information highlighted in the museum is the Battle of Island Mound. Located just miles outside of Kansas City, this battle is alleged to be the first time Black soldiers engaged in combat during the Civil War. Black soldiers fought against Confederates in October of 1862.

Even though some of this history dates back more than a century, others are actual memories for those still living. Wilkinson recalls integration in St. Joseph.

“Even though the Supreme Court declared segregation was illegal in 1954, I went to the school from ‘57 to ‘64 at Horace Mann, and we were still segregated during that period of time,” he said. “But to me, it was a plus because we had such dedicated teachers.”

Wilkinson said the change was difficult in many ways.

“Blacks were not in leadership roles as before in their own schools. (Before) they were able to become the leaders, the class presidents, the valedictorians. They were the leaders of the captains of their teams and stuff,” he said. “So that kind of diminished when integration came about and it made it a little bit more difficult. But it’s always been more difficult for us. It was just one or more things that we had to overcome and we did it.”

Sports in many ways spearheaded integration in the area, Wilkinson said.

The Black Archives is just one place to find information on the history of African Americans. Wilkinson said there are many other places to learn more.

“The access is so easy. You can get on the internet and go to a library, research for yourself, find out something,” he said. “Don’t just listen to somebody tell you stuff on whatever podcast. Look into the background.”

Hedge agrees there’s always more to learn about history.

“I’ve learned so much even since college because when I was growing up as a young person, none of my history was in the books,” she said. “I might see a slave every now and then, but as far as the people who had achieved things and accomplished, I didn’t see any of that.”

The Black Archives Museum continues to impact the community daily. During February, volunteers and staff plan to visit area schools to highlight significant moments from the past including the Brown v. Board of Education trial and the stories of Booker T. Washington, Kelsy Beshears and more.

The museum also will host its annual Hall of Fame induction on Feb. 29. This year’s inductees are Mary Brown and Roy Wedlow. The social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. with the induction at 6.