Activists for diversity

Since 1998, the city’s Office of Community Services has honored a person and an organization that have furthered cultural understanding in Columbia.

The 17 winners in the short history of the Columbia Values Diversity Awards have reflected the changing face of the city, from the desegregation of the public schools to the weekly demonstrations in opposition to the war in Iraq

When the 2006 winners are announced this morning at the Holiday Inn Expo Center, they will join a select list of people and organizations that exemplify the values, teaching and commitment to equality held by Martin Luther King Jr.

But just as important to the annual award is the memory of Gertrude Marble Marshall, a long-time community activist who promoted social justice. In 1998, members of the steering committee for the Columbia Values Diversity Celebration wanted to honor Marshall, whose contributions to MU helped create the university’s Peace Studies program. Marshall was also instrumental in developing the Highfield Acres neighborhood, which triggered residential integration in Columbia when some black families left the central city for the new subdivision.

Phil Steinhaus, director of the Office of Community Services, said the steering committee saw an opportunity to not only honor Marshall, but also to recognize others in the community whose “lifework exemplifies and models Dr. King’s work and his peacemaking and focus on social issues.”

In addition to Marshall, several other Columbia activists who were involved in the struggle for civil rights in Columbia and across the country have been recognized with a diversity award.

Eliot Battle, who received the award in 1999, was the first black employee to integrate the Columbia School District. After 35 years at both Douglass and Hickman high schools, Battle retired in 1991 as director of pupil services. Battle was a member of a mayoral task force to improve race relations in Columbia through education and employment.

Battle says that socially subtle racial divisions still exist in Columbia. The city is less divided than Kansas City or St. Louis, he said, but it struggles with many of the same issues.

“I hope that in my lifetime still I’m going to be able to see more positive changes that I had expected to see prior to now,” said Battle, who remains involved with the Minority Men’s Network, an organization he founded with another diversity award winner, Arvarh Strickland.

In the years following desegregation of Columbia schools, Battle worked with other teachers and community leaders to address the concerns of parents and students.

“We didn’t have problems like other schools,” Battle said. “But we tried to alleviate any as swiftly as possible.”

Battle and his wife, Muriel, who died in 2003, were the first African-American family to move to a home outside of the central city. Liz Schmidt, a community activist, long-time friend of the Battles and winner of the diversity award in 1998, said the Battles’ contributions to racial equality in Columbia cannot be underestimated.

“If it hadn’t been for people like that, integration would have been a lot harder,” Schmidt said.

In 1997, Eliot Battle published “A Letter to Young Black Men,” which he describes as an attempt to reach a younger generation of African-American men.

“I wanted to continue to try to say some things to young people that I didn’t get around to saying when I was actively involved in schools,” Battle said. “There was so much left that needed to be told, that a new generation needed to hear.”

Battle said that the message in the book is much the same as the message he gave to students throughout his career at Hickman: “You can be somebody. It just takes determination.”

The Battles often joined forces with the 2001 diversity award winner, Beulah Ralph, to help black families deal with the problems of integration. Ralph, who retired in 2005 after more than 50 years with Columbia Public Schools, opened the lines of communication between the black and white communities to ease the transition for students and parents.

Schmidt remains active in numerous community organizations. Since arriving in Columbia in 1953, she has volunteered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Girl Scouts, and is currently active in the League of Women Voters and Church Women United.

Schmidt also helped give residents throughout the city greater access to city government by broadcasting City Council meetings live on KOPN radio. While other media outlets covered the council meetings, Schmidt’s broadcasts enabled city residents, or anyone within reach of the radio broadcast, to hear the entire agenda.

These days, Schmidt remains a regular fixture at the weekly demonstrations in front of the Columbia Post Office — an appointment she has kept for 13 of the 22 years the protests have been held.

“There’s not a lot you can do nonviolently when the war machine rolls on,” Schmidt said. “You just kind of hope it will make a difference.”

Schmidt is also known for her work with Church Women United. Since 1941, the organization has worked to strengthen relationships among the women of Columbia’s churches as they worked together on community events and issues.

Church Women United also received the diversity award, as has the group’s vice president, Celestine Hayes, for her commitment to her students at Ridgeway Elementary School, where she has taught music since 1972.

The diversity awards steering committee began honoring groups and organizations in 1999. Since then, both the Hickman and Rock Bridge High School student bodies have been honored for participation in various multi-cultural programs, such as Rock Bridge’s Global Village festival and Hickman’s Speak Your Mind Forum. George Frissell, Hickman language arts department chair and chair of the multicultural committee, received the award in 2004 for his efforts to “integrate culture, history and contribution of all groups into the Hickman curriculum,” according to the Office of Community Services.

A founding sponsor of the Speak Your Mind Forum nearly 20 years ago, Frissell has attracted panelists to Hickman to discuss human rights and diversity. Frissell also fostered cooperation between Hickman and Rock Bridge students through a joint Amnesty International chapter.

Frissell said it is important for all cultural groups to be represented within the Columbia schools’ curriculum.

“At Hickman, we need to do everything we can to improve the involvement of students,” Frissell said.

Schmidt and Battle agree that there’s still work to be done in Columbia, especially with the younger generations. But they say they have witnessed a period of great change in the city, and both are hopeful for the future.

“We’re still not over the hump, but we’re better than we used to be,” Schmidt said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs along the way. But I guess things’ll bump along.”