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The Times They Are a-Changin’Travel with a FocusBy Joyce DaltonEons ago, when I was in school, we didn’t celebrate Black History Month. I don’t remember learning about the accomplishments of African-American scientists, educators or leaders. For that matter, I‘m not even sure we studied the continent of Africa. When and where I grew up (a Civil War border state) meant that Blacks and Whites went to different schools; it was called neighborhood schools, not segregation, but the difference was negligible. Happily, times have changed and while race relations are far from perfect, we’re headed in the right direction. This positive view was reinforced on a Black History-focused trip, aptly titled “Forgotten Missouri.” Whether visiting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, listening to an old-timer recount bygone days in the former all-Black community of Pennytown or learning about the bizarre case of Lloyd Gaines, an aspiring law student back in the late 1930s, I can state with confidence that the Whites in my group were as interested and involved as the African-Americans. Some might argue that we learned and absorbed on immeasurably different levels but the point remains that this was an experience designed for and appreciated by all, regardless of ethnicity. From Kansas City to St. Louis, the sites, culture, history and stories revealed themselves in a seemingly unending stream. Kansas City: Art, Sports and Steamboats
Saint Joseph: Pony Express, Jesse James and Asylums
Buffalo Soldiers, a Bygone Community, Plantations and a Student
Lexington was the site of a major Civil War encounter known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales, so-called for the barricades from which Confederate soldiers fired. Hemp was big business and one particularly cruel part of its production involved the “rope walk.” With hemp tied around their waists, slaves moved steadily backwards, stretching out the fibers. Severe cuts from the fibers were a given.
Among the cases in the annals of Civil Rights legislation, that of Lloyd Gaines stands apart. In 1936, this high school valedictorian and college graduate applied to the University of Missouri School of Law at Columbia. Rather than admit him, the state offered to finance his attendance at a school in a neighboring state or even, to establish an all-Black college. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court which ordered Missouri to provide an education equal to that received by White students. Gaines, however, disappeared shortly thereafter in Chicago where he had relocated due to threats against his life. To this day, his whereabouts, living or dead, remain a mystery. To right the wrongs of the times, the law school named its Black Culture Center for Gaines and a proposal is in the works to confer an honorary law degree on him. The times, indeed, are changing. St. Louis: Dred Scott, Ragtime, Wax Figures, Gardens, More Art
St. Louis’ old courthouse claims a grand multi-level arched interior and a less grand history. More than 200 slaves sued for freedom in this courthouse, the most famous being Dred Scot and his wife, Harriet. Their case rested on former residency in the free territories of Illinois and Wisconsin. Ironically, they eventually were declared “free” not by the courts, but by a new owner. The courthouse steps, site of a former slave market, provided a living history experience unmatched by the most learned writings when Angie, our leader, lined the group up arm’s width apart. As she barked orders – turn right, lift right foot, left, lift left foot, face center, open your mouths --, people in passing cars stared and we shared, at least a bit, the mortification the slaves once knew as hundreds of perspective buyers evaluated their worth.
As one who prizes masks, wood carvings and so-called primitive art, I welcomed the chance to tour the St. Louis Art Museum. Its African collection features a royal chair from Angola made of hides and carved wood, an initiation mask from Sierra Leone and a large bone, fiber, wood, hide, metal and cloth Nigerian Leopard Spirit Society emblem covered with such power objects as a drum, animal skulls and brooms to sweep away evil. Other galleries highlight Egyptian, Oceanic, Native American, pre-Columbian, Asian, European and American art. Encompassing 79 acres, the Missouri Botanical Gardens is the oldest such garden in the U.S. and is a designated National Historic Landmark. Flowers and plants do not bloom in isolation, but as part of themed sections in which a building, pavilion or bridge combine to present the ambience of a time or place. For example, a white marble bridge offers views of lotus blossoms in the Chinese garden while four islands, one holding a Shinto shrine, dot the Japanese garden’s lake. Here, too, Missouri’s African-American citizens are honored with the George Washington Carver garden. Inscriptions from this Missouri native’s writings and speeches line a path leading to a reflecting pool where visitors may relax amid an array of fragrant blossoms. Missouri may have been a slave-holding state, but there’s no denying it is now a leader in recognizing and remembering the importance and achievements of all its citizens, past and present. The folk singer, Bob Dylan, had it right: “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” If You Go …. Angela da Silva, owner and operator of the tour company National Black Tourism Network, based in St. Louis, created and led the itinerary outlined in the story. She is a heritage tourism specialist offering both scheduled group departures and custom itineraries visiting a number of U.S. states, various African countries and Brazil. Tel: (314) 865-0708. Web: www.tourism-network.net. Other contact info: Images by Joyce Dalton |
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Promoted
as the City of Fountains, Kansas City’s non-watery attractions include the
world-class Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Its 34,500-plus collection boasts a
number of works by contemporary African-American artists, as well as fine
African masks, a 16th century brass memorial head from Benin, a 19th century
wood and silver Asante stool from Ghana, and Melanesian shields, friezes and
painted bark cloth.
All
this in addition to enviable exhibits of European, Asian and American paintings,
sculpture, ceramics, bronzes, decorative arts and furnishings spanning
centuries. A $200 million renovation and expansion is targeted for completion in
spring 2007. Upgrades to the original building, which include cleaning some of
the galleries with toothbrushes, aim for “’33 but better,” according to a
spokesperson, referring to 1933, when the museum first opened. A second
building, now under construction, will house modern, contemporary and African
art, plus 6,500 works from Hallmark’s photo collection which have been gifted to
the museum. The 22-acre sculpture park, where bronzes by Henry Moore mix with
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s mammoth shuttlecocks, also will take on
a new look.
Situated
in the 18th and Vine historic district, once famed as a center for jazz, the
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum beckons not only sports enthusiasts, but anyone
interested in this country’s sociological history. Organized in Kansas City by
Andrew “Rube” Foster, “one of the greatest minds in baseball that people know
nothing about” according to a museum spokesperson, Negro League teams brought
the thrill of first-rate play to fans across the U.S., Canada and Latin America
between 1920 and 1960. Barred from the majors until 1947 when the Brooklyn
Dodgers recruited Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs, Negro League
players ironically attracted an integrated fan base. Opened in 1997, the museum
leads visitors past chronically arranged displays where , memorabilia and
interactive stations tell the story of the Negro Leagues, the players and the
times. The passage ends at a baseball diamond peopled with 12 life-size bronze
sculptures of great Negro League players.
Missouri
and rivers flow along together so perhaps, a steamboat museum should come as no
surprise. This museum, however, tells the story of only one vessel, the
Steamboat Arabia. Back in 1856, the 171-foot Arabia was traveling along the
Missouri River, bound for the western frontier with its load of passengers and
some 200 tons of cargo. Seven or so miles from Kansas City, it collided with a
submerged tree and sank, taking its treasures, but fortunately, not the
passengers, to the river’s bottom. For 132 years, as tales of its consignments,
reputedly everything from Kentucky bourbon to gold, haunted treasure hunters,
the Arabia lay untouched. With an old river map to guide them, a Kansas City
family of steamboat enthusiasts unearthed, literally, the vessel which due to
the changing course of the river, now lay buried under a cornfield. For months,
they dug, drilled and pumped out ground water before salvaging a 2,500-pound
boiler, the stern part of the hull and cargo items. For the next 15 years and
counting, they cleaned and arranged in display cases more than 4,000 pairs of
boots and shoes, china, trade beads, tools, pipes, zillions of buttons, guns,
jewelry, even pickles. But no bourbon, no gold. Visitors walk around a replica
of the main deck, gape at the bounty, and view films and displays of 19th
century river life. One such exhibit makes clear the role of African-Americans
who worked the river as cabin stewards, barrel makers and cargo handlers.
Driving
across Jackson County, formerly a pro-slavery tobacco growing area, we reached
St. Joseph, the starting point for the Pony Express. Each June, farmers and
ranchers from eight states saddle up and re-run the route between St. Joseph and
Sacramento. For $10, they’ll carry a letter for you. Patee House, built as a
hotel in 1848 and now a museum, recreates the ambience of a 19th century town
with a double row of one-room shops culminating in a small Victorian home.
But
this is far from all. There’s Pony Express memorabilia, a steam locomotive, a
saloon offering drinks of sarsaparilla and a Nickelodeon, antique cars, a
hand-carved working carousel and in the back yard, the very house where the bank
robber, Jesse James, was shot and killed as he stood on a chair straightening a
picture. Following the shooting, James’ wife, children and mother spent two
nights at Patee House, then called World’s Hotel.
Among
the Robin Hood deeds attributed to this legendary outlaw were his contributions
to the still standing but closed Banneker School in the town of Parkville. More
than 60 Black children walked or rode mules for miles to study in the one room
of this small brick structure built by community volunteers in 1885. Historical
records quote a teacher as saying, “But for Jesse James, I could not have kept
up the school.”
Of
the many strange sights I’ve seen in decades of travel, few equal the Glore
Psychiatric Museum. Constructed in 1874 as State Lunatic Asylum #2, its exhibits
are gruesome, shocking and undeniably true. With mannequins standing (and lying)
in for patients, an array of “treatments” are revealed.
There’s
the wet sheet pack; electro shock; a tranquilizer chair which totally
immobilized the patient; the “Bath of Surprise,” a sauna-sized tub of freezing
water into which the patient was dropped; the Utica crib, a coffin-like box with
bars over the top, and an upright version of the crib where the incarcerated
stood with only a tiny barred square at head level. Perhaps most obscene was an
enclosed wooden vat which spun like a hamster’s wheel unless the person inside
remained absolutely still. This museum is part of a complex which includes a
Black Archives section. Slave sale notices as well as signs and books replete
with racial stereotypes remind visitors of further disregard for human rights
and dignity. On the positive side, other and text introduce famous
African-Americans from the St. Joseph area.
There’s
much to see between St. Joseph and St. Louis. Pennytown, for example. A thriving
Freedmen’s hamlet in the late 19th century, all that remains is the one-room
Free Will Baptist Church. Descendants of Pennytown’s early residents may have
followed jobs elsewhere, but they didn’t forget their roots. As the church fell
into disrepair, they raised capital for its restoration and each year, on the
first Sunday in August, return for a day of reunion and services. A St. Louis
tour operator (see If You Go) can arrange for an old-timer to meet with visitors
and recount Pennytown’s history.
In
1866 Congress authorized creation of segregated regiments of Black cavalry and
infantry. Native Americans dubbed the mounted units “Buffalo Soldiers” and the
name stuck. In 1992, thanks in large measure to the influence of Colin Powell, a
monumental statue of a soldier on his horse was erected on the military base of
Fort Leavenworth. Be sure everyone in the vehicle has a photo ID or entry to the
base will be denied.
Grand
plantation homes still dot the countryside, once known as Little Dixie. A visit
to Pleasant Green, dating to the 1830s, makes a (yes) pleasant stop. Not only
are the house and its furnishings lovely, but its owner, “Winkie,” as she
prefers to be known, is cut from the Old South gracious hostess mold, albeit
with a sparkling sense of humor. A slave cabin stands on the grounds, complete
with a list of the plantation’s slaves and a numerical evaluation of their
worth. “It’s heartbreaking,” Winkie said, pointing to one entry showing the
person’s worth as zero. Another plantation we passed was infamous even among
slave holders for the owner’s practice of breeding slaves, often to a
particularly strong male who was rented out much as a prize stallion might be.
Most
famed for its 630-foot arch, symbolizing the city’s role as Gateway to the West,
St. Louis claims a variety of historic and cultural attractions, many centered
around Black history. Following the Civil War, hundreds of thousands of former
slaves left the South for land grants in places such as St. Louis. Many became
wealthy and owned land along the river. By the early 20th century, the area
called Chestnut Valley had become famous (and infamous) as a center of Black
night life.
The
ballad, “Frankie and Johnnie,” had its real-life origin here. Then, there was
Violet “Babe” Connors who kept a “sporting house” staffed with French-speaking
octoroons who catered to the city’s rich and famous. The ragtime great, Scott
Joplin, played piano at Babe’s every Saturday night. Pelagie Rutgers, on the
other hand, was a wealthy landowner and part of what was called the “colored
aristocracy.” A former slave who purchased her freedom for three dollars, it was
Pelagie who ordered construction of a soaring bell tower at Calvary Cemetery
where she would sit for hours by her husband’s glass coffin. 
Speaking
of Joplin, the house where he lived between 1901-03 contains a wealth of
memorabilia. Among the first generation of African-Americans born after the
Civil War, Joplin took ragtime beyond saloons and bordellos with his operas and
tunes such as “Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Entertainer.” Visitors enjoy the chance
to “play” Joplin tunes on a player piano.
With
wax figures, an actual slave cabin and a replica of a slave ship’s hold peopled
with figures of terrified people packed side by side, the Black History Museum
provided further insights. A film, “The Middle Passage,” graphically recounted
such a vessel’s journey from Dahomey (now Benin) to the Americas.