Restoration of The Madame C.J. Walker School

03/05/2026

If you find yourself in Topeka, the Kansas Museum of History just reopened and it is fantastic. And as a bonus, look what we found there!

02/21/2026

This week, we’re spotlighting Corinthian Clay Nutter for Black History Month.

She’s often remembered for her role in Walker’s Walkout, but her impact — and her story — go far beyond that single moment in history.

Corinthian was born in Forney, Texas on December 10, 1906. She was born into a very religious Baptist family, and at least one of her parents was a former slave. Due to the rigid environment at her home, she married at age 14 to escape that environment and dropped out of school. The marriage didn’t last long and she was divorced by age 16. After hearing stories about Kansas City’s nightlife, Corinthian packed up and moved — even though she didn’t know anyone here. The YMCA helped place her with a roommate, Willie McWashington, drummer for the famous Bennie Moten Band. And according to Corinthian, Count Basie would show up at their house and play piano quite frequently!

She realized that education was important and went back to school. She earned her high school diploma in 1936 (at the age of 30!) and then obtained a teaching license by 1938. She took a job at Shawnee’s Dunbar School (another historic all -black school) and later took a teaching position at the CJ Walker School.

As the controversy over the new South Park School heated up, Corinthian became an outspoken advocate for the conditions at the Walker school. She was fired for her trouble. When Esther Brown suggested the boycott of the Walker school, she called Corinthian and Nutter agreed to come teach the students. Her and another teacher, Hazel McCray-Weddington taught in living rooms for little pay for a year.

When the case went to the Kansas Supreme Court, Nutter testified about the conditions of the school and eventually the case was decided in favor of the Walker School Students. South Park School would be integrated. According to an interview with Nutter, she said that “Schools shouldn’t be for a color, they should be for children”.

Corinthian was not re-hired by the school district, but went on to teach at Olathe’s Lincoln School (another all-black school) and then later accepted a position at Olathe’s Westview Elementary. She was the only black teacher there, but eventually became principal of that school. After her retirement she was honored for her role in Walker’s Walkout by the NAACP and the American Association of Women. She passed away in her home at the age of 97 in 2004.

Photo Courtesy of the JoCo Museum

02/18/2026

Black and Jewish America explores the ties between Black Americans and Jewish Americans.

02/17/2026

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson today. We send prayers and condolences to his family and all who loved and knew him.
As we reflect on the life of this Civil Rights icon, let us all take a minute to remember that the fight for social justice is not over. May we all take a moment today to give back, even in a small way, in honor of his memory.

Jackson was a major contributor to the Civil Rights Movement and helped it accomplish many of its goals.

02/14/2026

One of the most famous names associated with the CJ Walker school is Thurgood Marshall. In the 1940’s Marshall was a lawyer for the NAACP and helped argue Webb v School District 90, the case our school was involved in. Does his name sound familiar? It should. Here is a brief run down of his life and work.

Thurgood Marshall was born July 2, 1908 in Baltimore Maryland. In 1930 he graduated from Lincoln University with a degree in American literature and philosophy. He then attended Howard University School of Law and graduated, first in his class, in 1933. He went on to start his own law firm but it was unsuccessful in part because he spent so much time working on community cases. He started volunteering for the NAACP and eventually became a Special Counsel for that organization. He was also the director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and was on the Board of Directors of the ACLU.
Marshall was well known for fighting for equal rights. He argued 32 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He won 29 of them. Some of the most famous include: Smith v Allwright which stated that states could not exclude black voters from primaries. Shelley v. Kraemer ruled that state courts could not enforce racial housing covenants. And Sweatt v Painter ruled that the University of Texas School of Law must admit a black student.
Marshall’s most well known case has close ties to our building. In 1954 Marshall argued the famous Brown v Board of Education case which desegregated schools and overruled the "separate but equal” standard set forth by Plessy v Ferguson.
President John F. Kennedy nominated Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1961.This court covered New York, Vermont, and Connecticut and was a prominent appointment. In 1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Marshall to be a justice on the United States Supreme Court. He was sworn in on October 2, 1967 becoming the first black Supreme Court Justice. He served the court for nearly 25 years until his retirement in 1991. He was replaced by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Marshall died in 1993 of heart failure and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

02/07/2026

Our school was named after Madam C.J. Walker, but many people don’t know who she was or the important work she did.
Let’s fix that!
Sarah Breedlove (later known as C.J. Walker) was born in Louisiana on December 23, 1867. She was the daughter of sharecroppers who had been born into slavery before the Civil War. She lost her parents at age 7 and went to live with her older sister in Mississippi.
At 14, she married Moses McWilliams, in part to escape her abusive. She had a daughter with Moses, but he died two years later, and she was a widow by 20.
After Moses’ death, Sarah moved to St. Louis to live with her four brothers, who were barbers, but she made her living as a laundress. In the 1890s, she suffered from a scalp condition and began losing her hair. She started using Annie Turnbo Malone’s “The Great Wonderful Hair Grower,” and eventually joined her team as a saleswoman.
In 1906, she married Charles Joseph Walker and renamed herself Madam C.J. Walker. She launched her own line of hair care products called “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.” After she and Charles divorced in 1910, she moved to Indianapolis and built the Walker Manufacturing Company.
As her business grew, she became a strong advocate for Black women and their financial independence, and she started a training program for her sales team. Eventually, her company employed over 40,000 Black men and women.
As she rose in status and financial independence, she helped those around her and donated generously to the YWCA and NAACP, and funded scholarships for students at the Tuskegee Institute. She passed away in 1919 and left two-thirds of her future profits to charity.
Madam C.J. Walker is remembered as the first self-made female millionaire — but her true legacy is the lives she changed, the doors she opened, and the generations she empowered.

01/19/2026

Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A pastor, a servant, and a man of faith who believed deeply in love, justice, and hope.
May we continue to walk in compassion and serve one another with courage and grace.

01/13/2026

Did you know that the Kansas City Star just released a FREE database of scans of their print photographs since the early 1900s? We looked around tonight and found these great pictures from Merriam's history. If you find any, share with us! Here is the link https://kcstarphotos.org/

11/08/2025

Come worship with us tomorrow at 11:30 am!

10/25/2025

Congratulations to the Banneker School on finishing their restoration!

The public is invited to celebrate, after 40 years, the restoration of the Banneker School at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, October 25th at 10:00 a.m. a

10/18/2025

Friends, we have fantastic news! We have been awarded a $3000 grant to help with the restoration of the building!!

Some of you have asked how you can help, and here is your chance! This grant is a matching grant, which means we also have to contribute $3000. If you would like to donate, click the link below. $1, $10, or $1000, it all helps!!

Thank you for your support!

To teach and preach the Word of God to the lost, to edify the believer, encourage the downtrodden, and to be a beacon of light to our community. To encourage application of God's Word in our lives.

10/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GGbVkas5t/

MidAmerica Nazarene University announced it has been awarded a $10,000 grant from Humanities Kansas to support the study of the history of the Madam C.J. Walker School in Merriam, Kansas. The former elementary school played an influential role in the Webb v. School District No. 90 case in 1949. It set the stage for Brown v. Board of Education and the desegregation of American education. Dr. Addison Lucchi, MNU instructional and research librarian, serves as the project director, in collaboration with Dr. Darin Tuck, associate professor of history. Tony Adams, board member of Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church (former home of the Madam C.J. Walker School) is also involved as site project manager. Read more at the link in our bio.