Mary Price Walls
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Mary Jean Price Walls was the first black applicant to Missouri State University in 1950.[1] While her application was ignored at the time, Walls received an honorary degree from the university at the age of 78 in 2010.[2]
Early life
[edit]Walls was born in Nogo, now part of Strafford, Missouri, in 1932, and later moved to Springfield. She graduated from Lincoln High in 1950, where she was class salutatorian.[2]
Walls applied to Southwest Missouri State College (now Missouri State University) soon after graduation; however, due to existing segregation at the time, she received no decision from the university.[2] The Brown v. Board of Education case ruled segregation unconstitutional in 1954,[1] but Walls had decided to focus on work and caring for her father rather than pursuing a degree.[2]
Recognition
[edit]While Walls never told her children about her application, in 2009 her son Terry found correspondence between Walls and former college administrators in the Missouri State University library while himself a student there.[2] In July 2010, the university recognized Walls with its first honorary bachelor's degree. Missouri State dedicated the Mary Jean Price Walls Multicultural Resource Center Annex in Walls' name in 2016.[3]
Walls died on July 6, 2020.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Davis, Linsey; Olivares, Xorje (2010-07-28). "Woman Finally Gets College Degree, Delayed 60 Years by Segregation". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ a b c d e Tang, Didi (2010-06-27). "Years after being denied entry, first black applicant gets degree from Missouri State University". Archived from the original on 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ "Missouri State remembers Mary Jean (Price) Walls - News - Missouri State University". News. 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ Moore, Jennifer (2020-07-08). "Mary Jean Price Walls, A Testament To MSU's Past Discrimination, Dies". KSMU Radio. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
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