Garrison School

Garrison School. . , Following statehood in 1821, the education of enslaved and free African Americans was discouraged in Missouri. Abolitionist literature and the fear of possible revolts by the enslaved led the Missouri General Assembly to pass a literacy law in 1847, making it illegal to teach Blacks to read and write. Following the Freedmen's Bureau Bill of 1866, Missouri Governor Thomas Fletcher appointed Black leader James Milton Turner to create Black schools, one being in Liberty. , Earlier in 1865, two subscription schools for Blacks were established in Liberty in the homes of white resident Laura Armstrong and Black resident Lucretia Robinson. Garrison School was later established in 1877 as one of seven schools serving African American youth in Clay County. Black schools were also established in Birmingham, Excelsior Springs, Harlem, Missouri City, Randolph, and White Oak, Missouri. , The original Garrison School was named by James Gay, principal for 22 years, for Abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison. It was a three-room brick structure located on North Water Street offering eight elementary grades and two years of high school. By 1909, the school enrolled 117 students. The original building burned in 1910, so the school met in the nearby Negro Masonic Hall until the construction of the current building in 1911. , Garrison teachers emphasized academics, character building and racial pride. In 1922 Garrison School had earned the reputation as one of the best schools for African American students in the state of Missouri. Although the school was small, the Garrison Wonder football team coached by Clarence E. Gantt and Sam Walls won the Missouri state football championship in 1932, and the high school track team took third place in state competition in 1935. , Attendance grew to approximately 142 students by 1938 and the building required renovation. Clarence E. Gantt moved into the position of principal and through his efforts the community passed a school bond issue to add a gymnasium and auditorium. This was completed as a WPA project in 1940. In the next two decades an average of seven students graduated annually. , Garrison School provided its students with a 10th grade education, but laws barred them from attending Liberty's white high school. In 1953 under pressure from African American school patrons, the high school unit of Garrison School closed and students were transported to Lincoln High School in Kansas City. , Following the decision of Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, “separate but equal” education was declared unconstitutional. The Liberty School District began integrating its high school in the fall of 1954. The final year of a segregated Garrison School was in 1957. Garrison became the 4th grade center in 1958, the Liberty School District kindergarten in 1961, and later served other community uses. , In December of 2003, members of the Clay County African American Legacy Consortium incorporated, and its board purchased Garrison School from the Liberty School District. It is now a cultural center committed to preserving African American history, celebrating culture and promoting human relations through community events, exhibits and educational programming. The Garrison School Historic District is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and registry of historic sites of Clay County.