Corinthian Nutter and her class at Walker School, around the time of the school boycott

This photo shows the class of Walker School, a school attended by the African American students of the South Park area in present-day Merriam.

The teacher shown here is Corinthian Nutter. Nutter is best known for participating in a walk-out at Walker School in 1948. The Merriam school district had built a new school but refused to permit African American students from Walker school to attend. In protest, all but two Walker School students refused to attend classes until the policy was reversed. The subsequent boycott of classes had Nutter teaching in people’s homes until the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Walker students, effectively desegregating the Merriam school system.

The students here have not been identified though it is likely that many are still living.

View another Corinthian Nutter History Mystery.