You Don't Say

The 'You Don't Say' series of conversations on Columbia's Black history and heritage took to a live forum last September at the State Historical Society of Missouri's Center for Missouri Studies.

Hickman High School Football Coach Cedric Alvis sat down with his grandfather Larry Monroe for a chat at Hickman High School. The pair began by talking about what life looked like for the black working class in the 80’s.

In this edition of You Don’t Say, Larry Monroe and KBIA’s Isabella Paxton sits down with Cedric Alvis, Monroe’s grandson, and the football coach at Hickman High School. Both having played football in high school, they talk about their experiences on and off of the field, and how football in Columbia has changed since Monroe played.

Dr. Eryca Neville is very familiar with the education system in Missouri. She’s the principal at Frederick Douglass High School, where she helps shape the lives of dozens of teenagers year in and year out.

Dr. Eryca Neville has spent over 20 years in education and has dedicated a lot of her time to learning about the community in Columbia and the needs of students and their families. She is the principal at Douglass High School, where she and Tyus Monroe sat down for a conversation about education in Columbia.

Having grown up in Columbia, Second Missionary Baptist Church Deacon Larry Monroe has seen how the city has changed over the years. He remembers the breaking down of segregation, urban renewal, and the social barriers that still remained while attending Douglass High School.

Barbra Horrell is a life-long Columbian who worked 45 years for MU and is an advocate for African-American history and preservation with the Sharp End Heritage Committee. Annelle Whitt spent more than two decades as an insurance executive, and now runs the Columbia Public Schools district’s MAC scholars program.

Rev. David Ballenger grew up in Columbia during the 1950s and 60s. He grew up in an African-American community in Columbia that has grown much larger than when he was a child, yet many neighborhood landmarks, family homes and businesses in the Sharp End district and on Third Street were destroyed through urban renewal.

Reverend Clyde Ruffin has served the Columbia community wearing many hats – as a councilmember for the Columbia's First Ward council district, as a professor in MU’s Theatre department, and currently as the pastor of Columbia’s historic Second Missionary Baptist Church.

David Ballenger has been the pastor at Log Providence Baptist Church in Columbia since 1984. He’s a familiar face in the city – he grew up in Columbia, went through its public schools, and played on its football teams.