Black Woman Receives Honorary Degree 60 Years After Racist Rejection

Filed under: News, Profiles, Race and Civil Rights

The story of Mary Price Walls (pictured), a 78-year-old Missouri woman born slightly ahead of her time, is the type of tale that makes you joyous and angry at the same time.

In an symbolic attempt to right a past wrong, Missouri State University administrators bestowed an honorary degree on Walls, who was denied her rightful entry to the then-all-white school 60 years ago because of racism.

The sight of Walls in her graduation cap and gown accepting congratulations from school officials and soaking in the cheers from the audience is truly heartwarming.

But think about what happened to Walls in the 60 years between her denial of a university admittance and getting the honorary degree: She worked in several odd jobs - as mostly as a custodian - and raised her family.

There is nothing to be ashamed of in working as a custodian, but I ponder what heights Walls could have achieved if she had been born after the landmark Brown v Board of Education decision instead of four years before.

Or what could she have accomplished if the Missouri State administrators had shown the sufficient backbone needed to break with their racist past and admit Walls, who graduated at the top of her high school class.

For me, the Walls story sheds a light on the true crime of America's racist past: the prevention of people reaching their full potential.

We easily could be talking about Walls in the same breath as black trailblazers like Daisy Bates, Shirley Chisholm and Zora Neale Hurston if given the opportunity to shine.

But she wasn't.

Neither were millions of other minorities through the years. I applaud Mary Price Walls and her graduation, but I am left wondering how much more could she have achieved.

For me, it's best to move on and try to forget about what happened to Walls and others like her. The bitterness and resentment associated with those thoughts can do nothing but rot you from the inside.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments