James T. Scott Memorial, Collection, 2010-2011 (C4072)

0.1 linear feet, 5 CDs, 3 DVDs, 1 computer disc

INTRODUCTION

The collection contains audio, video, and images related to the James T. Scott Monument Committee in Columbia, Missouri. The committee was created to raise funds to purchase a new headstone for lynching victim James T. Scott’s burial site in Columbia Cemetery.

DONOR INFORMATION

The oral history records were donated by Reverend Clyde Ruffin and University of Missouri Professor Emeritus Douglas Hunt on behalf of the James T. Scott Monument Committee. The interviews were conducted from 29 October 2010 through 30 April 2011 (Accession No. CA6263). The video records were donated by Scott Wilson on 29 September 2011.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

On April 20, 1923, James Thomas Scott, a thirty-five-year-old black man who worked as a janitor for the University of Missouri, was accused of raping a white teenager named Regina Almstedt. Before Scott went to trial, he was taken from his cell by a large mob and hanged at the Stewart Road Bridge in Columbia, Missouri. It was the last public lynching in Columbia.

The James T. Scott Monument Committee was formed in November 2010 and spearheaded by several community members including Reverend Clyde Ruffin of Second Missionary Baptist Church, where James T. Scott was a member in 1923, and University of Missouri Professor Emeritus Douglas Hunt. The committee’s goal was to publicly recognize the lynching of James T. Scott and to raise money for a more prominent headstone at Scott’s burial site in Columbia Cemetery. The committee held fundraising events to increase public awareness of the historical event, and gathered oral histories of second-hand accounts of the incident and of Columbia’s racial divisions during the 1920s and thereafter.

PROJECT SKETCH

Assembling the James T. Scott Memorial Collection was sponsored, in part, by a grant from the City of Columbia Human Rights Commission. The interviews were conducted by Rev. Clyde Ruffin and Douglas Hunt. The videos of the November 2010 event, “A Voice Silenced,” and the April 2011 event, “A Life Celebrated,” were created by Scott Wilson.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The James T. Scott Memorial Collection consists of oral history interviews, videos of community events, publicity posters for the James T. Scott Monument Fund Benefit Program and Reception, and photographs documenting the James T. Scott lecture at the State Historical Society of Missouri and the James T. Scott exhibit and reception held at City Hall.

The collection has been arranged into three series: Oral History Interviews, Videos, and Publicity and Photographs.

The Oral History Interviews were conducted by Rev. Clyde Ruffin and Professor Emeritus Douglas Hunt on behalf of the James T. Scott Monument Committee.

The Video series contains DVD recordings created by Scott Wilson of the events held at Second Missionary Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri. The videos are of the fundraising benefit held on November 7, 2010, and the James T. Scott Monument Dedication held on April 30, 2011. The series also includes a condensed version of the video of the monument dedication.

The Publicity and Photographs series documents the events held to raise awareness about the work of the committee. The material is arranged chronologically by event date. Photographs in folders two through four were taken by Society staff members. A computer disc of the photographs in folders two through four is also included in this series.

AUDIO AND VIDEO LISTS

Oral History Interviews Series

Video Series

FOLDER LIST

Publicity and Photographs Series

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

Last updated: February 2, 2012