KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland. She learned about Banneker School's history during our Let's Talk Series in Parkville. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
—
A one-room schoolhouse in Parkville that served Black children during segregation has been restored by community members who want to ensure this piece of history isn't forgotten.
Now they are ready for the next steps.
The Banneker School, built in 1885, represents generations of effort to preserve local history.
Community members have been working on renovations for three decades. They faced ongoing challenges to raise the money to restore the school building.
It’s a story KSHB 41 has been following for years.
13 years ago, KSHB 41photographer John Batten was at the school site, talking to community members about the changes they hoped to see.
Now, their kids are carrying on the work started by their family members.
“I just wanted to carry that on for my dad,” Constance Hoskins-Friends said.
Batten interviewed her father in 2012.
They’ve been working on renovations for three decades, and they say funding has been a challenge.
They have a vision that includes visitors and future generations learning about what happened at the school.
“On the property, there will be history markers, and the history markers will come along the sidewalk,” said Sheryl Biemann, a board member for the Banneker School Foundation and Historic Site.
Black children in the Parkville area after the Civil War were educated in the basement of Parkville’s Missouri Valley Hotel.
The school was built in 1885 because the needs of the students quickly outgrew the space at the hotel.
Now, it’s a reminder of history.
“This is the asset of the building that’s going to distinguish us; where there was writing on both sides,” Lucille H. Douglass said.
Lucille's mom learned a developer purchased the original Banneker School and planned to demolish the building.
Her mother decided to fight for local history and restore the building.
Now, they are working with the help of Denise Morrison, a retired director of collections for the Kansas City Museum.
“I’m hoping to help them with interpretation — to help them get that story out, how they’ll tell it to the various audiences, because it’ll be school kids, it’ll be adults,” Morrison said.
The location touches the community in many ways.
“This building is a pathway back to a time that is an embarrassing moment for everybody — for us as a society,” said Philip Wassmer, member of the Banneker Committee and Parkville City Council member.
“We need this to understand how important it is to be a part of one another, to support one another,” Biemann said.
