Local teen creates website in honor of Lloyd Warner
By Kirsten Stokes
A Lafayette High School sophomore has made it her mission to share the story of Lloyd Warner, a Black 19-year-old who was lynched by an angry mob in St. Joseph in 1933.
Through her research and activism, Nevaeha Leidy hopes to teach others, state and nationwide, about Warner and advocate for Black history education in the St. Joseph School District.
“He can’t tell his own story so other people have to … that’s why I did it,” Leidy said.
Leidy has spent countless hours in history class with her teacher Brooke Rich, finding research and creating a website about Warner. This year, Leidy will be competing in the National History Day contest. In this program, students from grades 6–12 can select a subject of interest and immerse themselves in the historical context through an in-depth investigation.
“I was supposed to find 40-plus websites for this project and I could only find 10 … that’s how little known he is,” Leidy said.
Last year, Leidy went to state for this competition as a freshman with a presentation on Ida B. Wells. This year, the contest theme, “Turning Points,” prompted Leidy to create a website dedicated to Warner’s memory and teaching others about his story and what happened to him.
As a biracial kid in St. Joseph, Leidy stressed the importance of knowing your racial history, especially when it may not be taught in as much detail.
“They know about the white history, the Indian history, but they don’t know about the Black history. Which, as a mixed kid growing up … it kind of sucks not knowing anything about your own race,” Leidy said. “It (Black history) just needs to be taught more, in my opinion, and that’s just my main goal, for more people to know about him.”
Leidy’s history teacher has been a supportive figure, assisting her with research and providing encouragement for the upcoming competitions. Rich has also been instrumental in promoting the general outreach to the community and beyond to share Warner’s story through Leidy’s work.
“I think she’s learned a lot about this teenage boy that she didn’t know a year ago,” Rich said. “And now she’s like learned his story and she’s going to be able to tell other people. She’s talked to people at the National Black Archives Museum here in St. Joe, and it’s just been really interesting to see her connect with this young kid.”
When asked about Leidy’s overarching goals for the project, she said she wants Warner’s memory to go beyond city limits.
“For more people to know about it … to get his story out, not just for me and Mrs. Rich and a couple other people to know about it … to get it further, to get it out of St. Joe,” Leidy said
Leidy competes at the regional National History Day competition on March 1 with an overall goal of state in April in Columbia, Missouri, where she competed last year.
