SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI

Springfield has a rich and layered history. Since it is an older city, it’s very well established in the historical timeline of the United States. Let’s first look at the demographics of Springfield as they are today.

Now let’s compare this graph to the overall United States population.

We can see that Springfield has a disproportionately white population. Why is this? What is Springfield’s role in history, and how did we do? Maybe if we understand the history this graph will begin to make more sense. Thanks to the work of faculty at Missouri State University, some people’s stories have been preserved in the form of video records.

In this video, Norma Duncan tells us about her experiences growing up as a black woman in Springfield.

If you would like to read a transcript of this video instead of hearing it, a transcript can be found HERE.