About 35 visitors representing eight communities across the Midwest, along with program staff and partners, conclude several days in West Plains today as part of the inaugural Midwest Memory Grant program administered by Forecast Public Art.
The gathering began Sunday and brought together representatives of all eight Midwest Memory grant teams for several days of learning, discussion, reflection and relationship-building. The Lincoln School Project, one of the eight organizations selected for the prestigious grant, served as the local host.
Supported by the Mellon Foundation and administered by Minneapolis-based nonprofit Forecast Public Art, the Midwest Memory initiative was created to support rural Midwestern communities working to preserve and elevate important local histories through public art, monuments and memorials.
"Part of the goal is not just to give money to these communities to make their public art projects happen, like Crockett and Tonya with Lincoln School,” said Theresa Sweetland, executive director of Forecast Public Art. “It’s also to bring people together, because sometimes these amazing visionaries and creatives working in rural places are very isolated and feel alone. So bringing them together in moments like this helps give them support, friendship, new ideas and connections across the Midwest that hopefully go long beyond."
Each of the eight selected communities received $110,000 in support, including $75,000 for its monument project, $25,000 for capacity building and $10,000 for cultural advisors, along with extensive technical assistance and participation in virtual and in-person cohort gatherings.
For the Lincoln School Project, grant funding helped complete Reflection Plaza on the grounds of historic Lincoln School. The project was also made possible through private donations, local grants and community support.
The plaza features two bronze sculptures and was created as a place to honor those who lived in the neighborhood historically known as “The Hill,” those who taught at Lincoln School and the children who attended the one-room segregation-era school.
During their time in West Plains, cohort members and staff spent a full day at historic Lincoln School learning about the school’s history, the African American community that surrounded it and the larger history of West Plains. Sessions were also held in conference rooms at the Ozarks Small Business Incubator.
On Monday evening, a community reception was held at 10/40 Coffee on West Plains’ Court Square to welcome visiting cohort members and staff and provide an opportunity for them to meet local residents, business owners and city leadership.
Addressing the visiting cohort during the reception, West Plains City Administrator Sam Anselm emphasized the importance of local government creating room for community-driven art.
"There are so many good ideas, so many good people out there wanting to do good things," Anselm said. "What we can do as city administration is step back and step away from those processes to allow people to step into that space and make their communities their own.”
Referencing his earlier observation that “downtown is the heart of any community,” Anselm added, “If your heart's healthy, the rest of the body is healthy."
The West Plains event represented a full-circle moment for the cohort. The group's first in-person gathering was held in Red Wing, Minnesota, home to another Midwest Memory recipient. West Plains was selected to host the concluding gathering as the inaugural group approaches the end of its grant period.
“We were honored that West Plains was selected to host the final cohort conference for this inaugural grant program,” said Crockett Oaks III, founder and executive director of the Lincoln School Project. “When we first joined the other teams at our opening gathering in Red Wing, Minnesota, we were learning about their communities and their stories. To have those same people come to West Plains, spend time at Lincoln School, and learn about our community was very special. It gave us an opportunity to not only share the story of Lincoln School, but to showcase West Plains and the people and partnerships that have made this work possible.”
Oaks added that the experience extended far beyond financial support.
“This grant gave us resources to help finish Reflection Plaza, but it also connected Lincoln School and West Plains with people doing meaningful public-history work throughout the Midwest,” Oaks said. “Perhaps the greatest compliment we could receive is having those colleagues come here and see firsthand what our community has accomplished. We are proud of Lincoln School, but we are equally proud that we had an opportunity to introduce our guests to West Plains.”
Historic Lincoln School, located at 1400 Pony Thomas St. in West Plains, has been restored and repurposed as a cultural and educational center dedicated to preserving the history of the former one-room school for Black children and the community it served.
More information about the Lincoln School Project is available at LincolnSchoolProject.com.
Editor's Note: Portions of this report were provided by the Lincoln School Project.
