Racial integration and harmony existed in the once vibrant community of Buxton, Iowa nearly 100 years ago. Buxton coal mine number 18 lasted only from 1900-1920, but the legacy of the short-lived town of 8,000 lives on. Author Rachelle Chase explores that legacy in her book Lost Buxton.
"The legacy of Buxton is the principles of inclusion and equality and the huge difference that makes for the success of a town and the ability of people to get along. It let the residents focus on their own lives and goals. The town, even though short-lived, was very successful," said Chase. In this episode of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Chase about what we can learn from Buxton today.
Then, Alexander Clark is probably best known for winning a U.S. Supreme Court Case allowing his daughter Susan to attend a school in Muscatine, and claiming a victory for integration 86 years before the decision in Brown v. Board of Education. But his lifetime of advocacy began long before that court ruling. We listen back to a conversation Charity had with Dwain Coleman, then a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Iowa, about Clark and his years of planning and working to win civil rights for Black Iowans.
Guests:
- Rachelle Chase, author of Lost Buxton and Creating the Black Utopia of Buxton, Iowa
- Dwain Coleman, Ph.D. history, University of Iowa
