Boy Scout troop in the 1963 White River Festival parade
This innocuous picture of a Boy Scout troop marching in the White River Festival parade has a darker context. These young men were segregated from the other Independence County Boy Scout troops.
Boy Scouts of America was founded by W. D. Boyce in 1910. When he left the organization, he urged the executive board not to discriminate on the basis of race or creed. The board disagreed, establishing the position that the inclusion of African American youths could be permitted following the same policies of local schools. With Jim Crow, this called for “separate but equal” troops.
Most of the southern states contained “colored troops” for Boy Scouts until almost 1950. Even this was met with disdain, with many southern scout troops promising to leave BSA and burn their uniforms if African American boys were permitted to join. The revolt was quelled by James E. West and the “separate but equal” troops were allowed to wear the Boy Scout uniforms.
This picture was one of many on display for Old Independence Regional Museum’s Black Heritage celebration last Thursday, February 22, 2024. We would like to thank our patrons for supporting this event; our speaker, Dr. Jennifer Wallach, was thrilled with the turnout and the comments she received. We are grateful for Citizens Bank for sponsoring this event.
Dr. Wallach wrote the commentary for a portion of our Smithsonian Institution/Old Independence Regional Museum exhibit, “A Taste of Community”. Come by and see the exhibit; it is here for a limited time and contains hundreds of local artifacts and stories for your enjoyment. We will see you at the museum!
