Lucille H. Douglass, chairperson of the Banneker School Foundation and Historic Site, cuts the ribbon at a ceremony celebrating the restoration of the schoolhouse.

The Banneker School Foundation and Historic Site recently celebrated the completion of the school’s restoration by hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony at the schoolhouse in Parkville, Missouri. Attended by various community members, alumni, and friends, the event celebrated the 140th anniversary of the kilning of the bricks used for the original schoolhouse, and honored the 40 years of work that have made the restoration possible. The Banneker School, named after Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), an African American mathematician, astronomer, and racial equality advocate, is one of the few remaining one-room schoolhouses west of the Mississippi, and was originally one of just three schools built in Platte County to educate African American children.

Various figures involved in the restoration process shared remarks leading up to the ribbon cutting, including people from DMRTISANS, the Platte County Commission, the City of Parkville, Park University, the Park Hill School District, and the Platte County Historical Society, as well as Missouri State Representative Mike Jones and Missouri State Senator Barbara Washington. The Reverend Randy Sly of St. Therese Catholic Church opened the event with an invocation, and the culminating ribbon cutting and dedication were preceded by a benediction from a Banneker School descendant, the Reverend Atwood Williams of Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church.

Various attendees at the ribbon cutting ceremony. From left: Sheryl Bierman, Catherine Friends Middleton, Dr. Sandra Enríquez, Maggie Neel, Michael Sprague, Dr. Diane Mutti Burke, Lucille H. Douglas, Dr. David Trowbridge, Carla Barksdale, Dr. Adrian Singletary, and Connie Friends. Dr. Mutti Burke holds a piece of commemorative artwork created for the occasion.

Through support and funding provided by the Kansas City Monuments Coalition and the Mellon Foundation, the Banneker School Foundation and Historic Site has installed ten historic markers, erected an entry sign and shelter at the entrance to the property (with solar-powered security cameras and landscape lighting), engineered an ADA compliance study, surveyed property to the north of the original school, and carried out landscaping and grading of the site. The foundation looks forward to opening the historic schoolhouse’s doors to the community and continuing to honor “the enduring spirit of those who fought for education and equality in Parkville’s history.”