The late Mary Jean Price Walls, who as a woman of color was denied entry to Missouri State University in the 1950s, has been honored with a historical marker celebrating her place on the Springfield-Greene County African American Heritage Trail.
The marker is located outside the Plaster Student Union, just west of Siceluff Hall.
Many members of the campus and Springfield communities gathered for a dedication ceremony at the Mary Jean Price Walls Multicultural Center August 21. The marker was unveiled immediately after.
Walls received an honorary undergraduate degree from Missouri State in 2010. The university later named the Multicultural Resource Center in her honor in 2016.
Walls died July 6, 2020.
Celebrating the contributions of people of color
According to the organization’s website, Heritage Trail members work to recognize contributions people of African descent have made to local history. As part of that mission, the organization places physical markers at key historical locations throughout Springfield and Greene County.
Heritage Trail sites include the Sherman Avenue Corridor, Lincoln Cemetery, Miss Alberta’s Hotel, Silver Spring Park, the Downtown Square and Lincoln High School. Other important sites include Springfield’s historic black churches, such as Washington Avenue Baptist Church, Benton Avenue AME Church, Pitts Chapel United Methodist and Gibson Chapel Presbyterian Church.
According to Dr. Lyle Foster, Walls’ marker is the first Heritage Trail marker on the Missouri State campus. Foster is a Heritage Trail committee member and associate professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology.
Plans are in the works to recognize Missouri State’s Kentwood Hall next, Foster said.
“What we know as Kentwood Hall [is that] it played a role in the effort to desegregate public facilities in the city of Springfield,” he explained. “The story will help shed light on the effort to make public spaces available for everyone.”
