South Park, Kansas, was founded in 1887 as an integrated community, and by 1900 four black families lived in the town of 250 residents. The community grew and became part of Merriam when Merriam incorporated in 1950. In 1888, Johnson County School District No. 90 was organized to serve South Park’s children, and a one-room schoolhouse known as Madam C.J. Walker School educated both black and white students. By 1900, however, the district began separating students by race. As new buildings were constructed for white students, the original school continued as the schoolhouse for black children. By 1947, the building had expanded to two rooms and served 40 black students under clearly inferior conditions, including poor lighting, inadequate heating, and outdoor plumbing. That same year, a new South Park Elementary School opened for white children only, and black children were barred from attending. Black parents appealed the segregation to the school board and the Johnson County Court, but their appeals were denied. Parents, teachers, and other concerned citizens then brought Webb vs. School District No. 90 against the district, a lawsuit that paved the way for the 1954 Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education case. With the help of Esther Brown, a white Merriam resident, black parents organized a boycott of Walker Elementary School and children attended classes in private homes. Corinthian Nutter and Hazel McCray-Weddington continued teaching the 39 children whose parents withdrew them from Walker School, and despite threats and harassment, Esther Brown persisted until black students were admitted to South Park Elementary School in 1949.
