This October, the Curtis Laws Wilson Library at Missouri S&T will host an exhibition on the desegregation of higher education in Missouri, created by the Missouri S&T Archives and the State Historical Society of Missouri-Rolla Research Center.  

“Desegregation in the Miner Nation: 75th Anniversary of Desegregation in Higher Education” will be on display Oct. 1-31 on the second floor of the Curtis Laws Wilson Library, located on the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla. For a guide to the exhibit, visit libguides.mst.edu/desegregation.  

There will be four events on Tuesdays throughout the month, on Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28. All events will begin at 5:30 p.m., and will take place on the second floor of the library. All events are free and open to the public; campus parking is free after 4:30 p.m.  

• Oct. 7 – Opening reception.  

• Oct. 14 – “Desegregation of Missouri’s Public Schools in the Wake of Brown v.  Board of Education.” Dr. Gary Kremer, executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri, will give a talk on the challenges posed by efforts to desegregate, including both white and Black resistance to integration.  

• Oct. 21 – “Desegregation to Integration at the Missouri School of Mines and the University of Missouri, 1950-1963.” Dr. Larry Gragg, university historian at Missouri S&T, will give a talk on the process of desegregating the School of Mines and the University of Missouri, and the integration of Black students into the culture of the two institutions. Gragg is also a Curators’ Distinguished Teaching professor emeritus of history and political science at S&T.  

• Oct. 28 – “Reflections On the Academic Career of the First African American Faculty at the University of Missouri-Rolla/ Missouri S&T.” Dr. Harvest Collier, former vice provost of undergraduate studies and professor emeritus of chemistry at Missouri S&T, will offer his perspective on over three decades of service to the university community, and the impact those experiences had on his worldview.  

The October 14, 21 and 28 events will also be streamed on both Zoom (register for specific events at shsmo.org/calendar)  and Facebook Live (view at facebook.com/MissouriSandTArchives). 

About Missouri University of Science and Technology 

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.