Freed Black Americans add to Mid-Missouri’s story

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

In the year 2026, the United States of America celebrates its 250th anniversary of freedom and independence.

However, on July 4, 1776, not everyone in this country was free.

It was another 82 years before the South was ordered to free all slaves when President Abram Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation at the end of the Civil War.

The Emancipation Proclamation was to go into effect in the Confederate States starting Jan. 1, 1863. Lincoln had issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, as a warning to Southern states that all enslaved people must be freed starting January 1863. According to Sean Rost of the State Historical Society of Missouri, both dates became early emancipation celebrations in Missouri.

"Jan. 1 gets molded into Missouri into Jan. 11, which is the date in 1865 when, in the state of Missouri, the General Assembly issued its edict declaring that slavery is abolished in the State of Missouri," said Rost.

Rost said that in various parts of Missouri, Aug. 4 was also celebrated and tied into the emancipations and the end of slavery in the British West Indies in 1834. That date became a rallying cry, a celebration and an inspiration for enslaved Black Americans in the decades before the Civil War.

Several newspaper clippings from across the state and Mid-Missouri that previewed multiple Emancipation Day celebrations in January, August and September still exist. These select dates began to mold into the more commonly known date of June 19, when Union soldiers traveled to Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to notify enslaved Black Americans of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

From Little Dixie to Lincoln University

In the 1810s, '20s and '30s, settlers from the Upper South, such as Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, moved to Missouri and brought slaves with them. A small slave-holding economy was established in Mid-Missouri, and because of the growing Southern identity, a strip across the middle of the state got the name "Little Dixie." "Little Dixie" is the area primarily along the Missouri River Valley.

After the Civil War, newly freed slaves stayed in the Little Dixie region, which consisted of several counties and cities in Mid-Missouri and northeastern Missouri. "Some of the statistics show us that there are a number of schools and churches, primarily catering to African-American populations in places like Pike County and places like Lincoln County," said Rost.

Black Americans began to re-identify and grow communities in the region of Little Dixie. Black communities formed churches, organizations and schools, bringing on a new history in a white-dominated society during the Jim Crow era.

The story of Lincoln University in Jefferson City begins shortly after the Civil War, in 1866, when freed Black Union soldiers founded the school. Soldiers of the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantry learned how to read and write while in the service. An educated officer taught the men of the 62nd and 65th how to write and recognize their names and how to do simple math, according to Lincoln University spokeswoman Misty Nunn.

After the Civil War, the soldiers of the 62nd and 65th Infantry decided to start the Lincoln Institute for newly freed Black Americans in Missouri, which would later be known as Lincoln University in 1921.

As the country celebrates America 250, it is important to learn about the men of the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantry, who fought in the Civil War for their freedom, Nunn said. "They knew that they were citizens of this nation, whether somebody gave them credit for that or not. And so they fought," said Nunn. "They fought for this country. They fought for their freedom, and they earned it."

Lincoln University archivist Mark Schleer said Lt. Richard Baxter Foster helped educate these soldiers. "Richard Baxter Foster, who is the lieutenant that came up with the idea of giving these guys an education not only to make them good soldiers, but to get them ready for a life of freedom which they'd never experienced before," said Schleer.

Foster was an abolitionist and a reverend with several connections to assist the men of the 62nd and 65th after they raised $6,000 to start the Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City. In 1866, the institute started with two students; that number swelled to over 200 the following year, said Schleer.

In 1867, Missouri became the 17th state to ratify the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which, among other things, overturned a ban on the education of slaves. Schleer says that ratification meant that every town in Missouri that had a certain population had to have a school for Black residents. This opened the doors for Black Missourians to have an education; however, there weren't any teachers to teach them. According to the Lincoln University website, in 1870, the school started to receive funding from the state for teacher training.

"Our founders lived through a bad era," Nunn said of the men who started Lincoln. "They lived through a time where people honestly believed that because of the color of your skin, that you were less than, that you couldn't learn, that you couldn't become anything ... and so it is important for [students] to understand where Lincoln started, how Lincoln started, so that they know they can overcome anything."

Business owners in the city

In Columbia, areas such as Sharp End were vital to the Black community during the Jim Crow era, ahead of desegregation. Sharp End was a majority Black-owned business district when Black Americans were not allowed in businesses in certain areas of downtown.

Sharp End was an area where Black Americans could get anything they needed. "From morticians to general stores, clothing stores, grocery items, doctors, everything like that," said Rost. "All would have been African-American-owned, and they would have been catering to the African-American community."

Frank Gardner, 81, was born and raised in Columbia, and he remembers growing up in town and the Sharp End. Gardner talked about the doctor's office on Third Street and a dentist's office, and how those places were needed in a time of segregation.

"We didn't go to many other places back in the day because it was segregation, and we couldn't go in any of the places," said Gardner. He went on to mention that when Sharp End was there, it supplied the Black community with whatever was needed, because there weren't many places to go during that time in Columbia.

Gardner was around 12 or 13 years old when he visited the Sharp End. The businesses consisted of some clubs and pool halls. He wasn't old enough to go in these places, but he considered himself a "roamer," and that's why he knew what was down there at the time.

Gardner said many businesses downtown would not let Black people inside, and other areas of the city were best avoided. "We didn't want to go too far, you know, we might get jumped on," Gardner said. "We couldn't sit down at the places downtown. We could buy and spend our money, but we weren't allowed to sit in any of those places back then."

When segregation ended and public accommodation laws came into effect, the businesses in areas like Sharp End began to struggle. During this time, the end of segregation brought new opportunities for Black Americans that were never there before, but it is also hurt Black businesses.

Over the years, there has been a rise in historic preservation, documentation and the recording of oral histories of the Black population in Mid-Missouri, such as the African American Trail in Columbia and Boone County. Certain documentation includes the preservation of the Blind Boone Home and the Second Baptist Church.

Blind Boone

John William "Blind" Boone was a nationally recognized musician who lived in Columbia during the Victorian Era and whose home holds historical significance. Boone is a symbol of African-American achievement and was active in the community. According to the secretary of the Boone Foundation, Greg Olson, Boone was active in the Freemasons, among several other philanthropic groups, and donated money to several institutions.

Over time, Boone navigated the dangers of the Jim Crow era, appealed to people across raical lines, and brought pride to the citizens of Columbia, Olson said. However, when traveling, he was not allowed to stay in certain towns.

"He was able to navigate race. He was able to navigate blindness," Olson said. "Really, it is just tenacity, his talent, and his ability to overcome a lot of obstacles, I think, was a real story that really resonated with a lot of people." 

Blind Boone was born at a Union Army camp near Miami, Missouri, and when he was a year old, his eyes were removed after he was diagnosed with what was considered to be meningitis. Boone grew up in Warrenburg, Missouri, and was sent to a school for the Blind in St. Louis where he taught himself instruments. When his talents grew, he was exploited by a number of managers over the years.

Boone moved to Columbia around 1889 and met John Lang Jr., who helped him become a famous ragtime musician.