A highlight of the new Merriam Plaza Library is the Webb Family Meeting Room, a multi-purpose gathering space that can accommodate up to 40 people for meetings and events and will also serve as the Storytime room. The colorful mural that makes this new space distinctive depicts life-long Merriam residents Alfonso and Mary Webb along with their five sons and five daughters, and honors the deep roots the family has established in the community.
In the late 1940s, the Webbs, along with several other Black families, filed the lawsuit Webb v. School District 90, which alleged that the local school for Black children was not "separate but equal" to the new elementary school for white children only. The 1949 decision for the Webbs desegregated South Park (now Merriam) schools and laid the foundation for 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision, which outlawed school segregation nationwide. Hear the story from the Webbs themselves in this video, and learn more details from the Webb siblings in a recent issue of Johnson County's The Best Times magazine.
The Webb's courage and commitment to educational access resonated with Library officials, who are thrilled to share the family’s story with future generations through the room’s name and mural. Johnson County Library extends our sincere gratitude to the Webb siblings for sharing their time and energy on this project.
