Merriam school that helped end segregation added to National Register of Historic Places

MERRIAM, Kan. (KWCH) - A Kansas school that helped end segregation in America earned a national honor this week.

The National Park Service added the Madam C.J. Walker School in Merriam to the National Register of Historic Places, which unlocks new restoration funding that supporters need.

The school was built in 1888. In 1947, the district built a new school and became segregated, forcing Walker students to learn in the two-classroom building.

Following this, families filed a lawsuit. In 1949, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld a state law prohibiting segregation in small towns.

That case is considered a forerunner to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education lawsuit in 1954.

“After all these years, our story officially is probably not written in the history books. But those that are written, and have knowledge, you know, Brown versus the Board, now we’ll be footnote,” said Tony Adams, Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church Board Member.

Adams is raising money and pursuing grants to rebuild the school into how it once stood. He hopes the new designation will be the breakthrough they’ve been waiting on.