- 5 -
accessHealthNews.net
August 2024
Volume 10 | Issue No. 87
"It was like these ceaseless introductions to the problems,
there is delight in people who understand that tragedy has
its value for moving the needle. We make the best progress, I
feel, in a time of trouble."
- Jim Nunnelly
Before World War II, during, and for some
time after, Columbia, Missouri – often
referred to as Little Dixie – was strictly
divided by race. It has been said that if
four Black people were standing together
on the street corner, it would have been
considered unlawful assembly. Denied
access to hospitals, the Black community
was relegated to home births. However,
there were three Black community pillars
they could call their own: St. Paul AME
church, Sharp Edge business district, and
Douglass School.
Jim ("Grand Dad") Nunnelly was born in
1941 during the middle of WWII. His mother,
Geraldine, had three children by the time
she was 19. Nunnelly, her fourth child,
came along while she was in her 20s. Her
wit and sheer intelligence would make an
indelible mark on his life and successful
career.
Nunnelly's mother introduced him to
poetry and taught him how to recite it. As
early as 7 years old, he remembers being
led to downtown Columbia to the corner
of 8th and Broadway. He'd recite poetry
that ultimately parlayed into donations
by passersby, donations that funded
the family's Christmas. "She made me
understand the difference between 'living
in' and 'living around' an issue," he said.
Fighting when there's no fighting
As the last segregated graduating class
of Douglass High School, he took the
Ohio Psychological Test, akin to today's
ACT, and scored in the 99th percentile.
"They made me take the test over again
because they didn't believe that the
high school could produce someone so
competitive," he said. "The next time I
tested I had to take the test with my arms
and legs out so I took the test in shorts.
Now this seems so odd and out of place,
but it was quite relevant because it was
the abnormality against normality that was
the issue.
READ MORE
