The March 1959 issue of Ebony magazine gave front cover billing to my article, “I’m Glad My Daughter’s Teacher is a Negro.” When Ebony’s editor John Johnson, spoke at the University of Missouri I suggested this article and he snapped, “I’ll pay well for that!” Two weeks later he called to ask, “When will that article be ready?” I needed two more weeks. When he received the manuscript, Johnson sent a Chicago photographer, who spent three days shooting photos in Nancy’s third-grade classroom, the cafeteria, on the playground and the school bus.

In February Ebony wrote, “This story is being given national coverage by AP & UP international wire services.... It’s featured on all of our truck banners... We’re sending 200 extra copies to our Midwest distributor.” Why all of this interest in the fact that I was glad that Nancy’s third-grade teacher was black? For the first time in the state of Missouri, children were not segregated according to race.

Our rural school board courageously brought six one-room elementary schools and their teachers together in one modern building. The article was a detailed account of the work of two women -- Lucy Douglas, who taught at Turner; and Eva Coleman, who taught at “Grindstone Colored.”

Lucy Douglas was principal of the new school and Eva Coleman, the only black staff member, taught third grade. They worked together behind the scenes to help the children know and respect each other without regard to color, and they worked through the PTA to help parents do the same. They resolved problems quietly and, although there were difficult times, these two gentle women performed miracles.

Almost none of the children had attended a school that had an indoor toilet, a gymnasium, hot lunches, a large playground, an office or even a telephone. Only the third-grade black students would be taught by their beloved Eva Coleman. They had never known any other teacher. Mrs. Douglas smoothed the rough spots and Mrs. Coleman, on the playgrounds, in the hallway and the cafeteria, cordially greeted her former students with just the right amount of attention. And she was quick to help them or correct them, as needed. Soon all of the students looked to these women for guidance.

Practicing for the Christmas play one child asked, “Mrs. Douglas, do you really think that’s right?”

“What, honey?”

“That the parents have both black and white children?” Surprised, Mrs. Douglas and Mrs. Coleman looked at each other, laughed and one said, “You know, that never occurred to us.” The children laughed and the play went on as practiced.

There were black angels and white ones, black snowmen and white snowmen. Those two remarkable women had succeeded in teaching the children that people of different races are supposed to work together, laugh together and learn together. Integration has to be legislated, but true integration was, and still is, in the hearts of people.

Today that school is part of the Columbia Public Schools system as New Haven Elementary. Mrs. Coleman passed away many years ago,

and Mrs. Douglas is going strong, having celebrated her 90th birthday in August.

When we spoke together recently she said, “You know, Sue, if we had it all to do over again, I’d do it just the same.”

“Yes,” I replied, “because you did it right in 1958!”