The next marker on the Springfield-Greene County African-American Heritage Trail was dedicated on the Missouri State University campus on Aug. 21. 

Honoring the university’s first Black applicant Mary Jean Price Walls, the ceremony took place inside the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) that bears her name. 

The marker will be located immediately south of the Plaster Student Union and across from the MRC.

About Walls 

In 1950, Walls was the first Black student to apply to Missouri State. Though she was qualified – she was salutatorian of her class – she was denied admission. 

In 2010, Missouri State awarded her an honorary bachelor’s degree, and in 2016, the Mary Jean Price Walls Multicultural Resource Center Annex was named in her honor. 

Walls died on July 6, 2020. She had eight children and retired from the workforce in 2009 after serving as a janitor at a local science center. 

About the trail 

The Springfield-Greene County African American Heritage Trail is a series of physical markers dedicated to the formerly unrecognized contributions made by people of African descent to the city of Springfield and Greene County. 

To date, seven markers have been placed, with plans for 20 in total. The university marker will be No. 8. It is funded through a private donation. 

The first marker on the trail was designated during the annual Park Day Reunion at Silver Springs Park in August 2018.  

Other sites on the trail include Lincoln High School, historic Black churches and the Sherman Avenue corridor.