1976 Missouri Amendment 5

1976 Missouri Amendment 5, also known as the Repeal Segregated Schools Measure, ^[1] was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Missouri to repeal the state's defunct provision requiring separate schools for white and colored children. The amendment was symbolic, as school segregation had been federally illegal since Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The amendment was approved in a 57.53% to 42.47% vote.

1976 Missouri Amendment 5

3 August 1976
Amendment No. 5- (Submitted by the 78th General Assembly Second Regular Session) Repeals provision of Missouri Constitution which provides "Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, except in cases otherwise provided for by law."
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 598,897 57.53% No 442,103 42.47%

Background

Senate Joint Resolution No. 40 (SJR 40) and House Joint Resolution No. 64 (HJR 64) placed the amendment on the ballot.

SJR 40 was introduced by Senator Franklin Payne and Senator Murray, and HJR 64 was introduced by Representative P. Wayne Goode and Representative S.L. Piekarski, Jr. ^[2]

Viewpoints

State Senator Franklin Payne , an author of the bill that placed the amendment on the ballot, believed it was important to remove this "objectionable and oppressive language from the constitution." ^[3]

State Senator Maurice Schechter: "I've always thought it should come out of the Constitution because there was no reason to have it there anymore. But I thought there would be enough people mad about it to defeat it. They're mad about busing." Schechter felt that some of the negative votes had likely come from confusion, saying, "I never heard anybody talk about it before the election, but I had a feeling it would run into trouble, just like it did in Oklahoma. A lot of voters probably knew nothing about it and voted their first impulse when they saw it on the ballot." ^[4]

Zack F. Bettis, President of the state Board of Education: "Repeal of this provision is long overdue and I'm happy that this separate but equal concept has had no significant meaning in Missouri's public schools for many years." ^[3]

Results

County	Yes %	No %	Total vote
Adair County	58.7	41.3	4,508
Andrew County	44.7	55.3	4,052
Atchison County	41.3	58.7	2,327
Audrain County	58.6	41.4	6,569
Barry County	49.4	50.6	5,428
Barton County	50.3	49.7	2,280
Bates County	42.4	57.6	4,316
Benton County	49.6	50.4	3,324
Bollinger County	38.6	61.4	1,954
Boone County	70.2	29.8	16,553
Buchanan County	54.0	46.0	21,242
Butler County	50.5	49.5	5,382
Caldwell County	42.7	57.3	2,576
Callaway County	57.6	42.4	5,228
Camden County	50.8	49.2	5,026
Cape Girardeau County	61.7	38.3	12,919
Carroll County	45.3	54.7	3,522
Carter County	48.5	51.5	1,129
Cass County	49.1	50.9	9,340
Cedar County	51.3	48.7	3,060
Chariton County	50.9	49.1	4,021
Christian County	49.7	50.3	5,551
Clark County	41.1	58.9	1,441
Clay County	52.8	47.2	22,796
Clinton County	52.6	47.4	4,449
Cole County	69.5	30.5	15,088
Cooper County	54.3	45.7	3,437
Crawford County	48.7	51.3	3,393
Dade County	53.5	46.5	2,185
Dallas County	38.2	61.8	2,972
Daviess County	42.6	57.4	2,514
DeKalb County	46.2	53.8	2,341
Dent County	38.9	61.1	3,185
Douglas County	44.9	55.1	2,904
Dunklin County	54.8	45.2	5,865
Franklin County	59.5	40.5	13,032
Gasconade County	55.5	44.5	3,845
Gentry County	45.1	54.9	2,335
Greene County	66.0	34.0	41,000
Grundy County	43.9	56.1	3,343
Harrison County	41.7	58.3	2,803
Henry County	49.7	50.3	6,001
Hickory County	43.2	56.8	1,824
Holt County	42.0	58.0	2,010
Howard County	54.0	46.0	2,697
Howell County	52.7	47.3	5,121
Iron County	49.2	50.8	2,940
Jackson County	54.0	46.0	108,960
Jasper County	56.5	43.5	14,556
Jefferson County	58.9	41.1	24,967
Johnson County	54.8	45.2	5,835
Knox County	50.4	49.6	1,277
Laclede County	46.3	53.7	5,274
Lafayette County	54.7	45.3	6,884
Lawrence County	59.0	41.0	6,665
Lewis County	47.5	52.5	2,390
Lincoln County	49.3	50.7	5,615
Linn County	48.1	51.9	4,712
Livingston County	55.6	44.4	5,162
Macon County	50.2	49.8	4,099
Madison County	47.4	52.6	2,042
Maries County	39.9	60.1	2,308
Marion County	58.1	41.9	7,526
McDonald County	44.2	55.8	2,850
Mercer County	39.4	60.6	1,214
Miller County	47.6	52.4	3,977
Mississippi County	49.8	50.2	3,533
Moniteau County	52.3	47.7	3,400
Monroe County	58.0	42.0	3,127
Montgomery County	57.2	42.8	2,762
Morgan County	50.3	49.7	2,744
New Madrid County	52.5	47.5	5,016
Newton County	49.1	50.9	5,208
Nodaway County	53.3	46.7	5,787
Oregon County	45.1	54.9	2,384
Osage County	55.0	45.0	3,848
Ozark County	48.8	51.2	1,753
Pemiscot County	53.4	46.6	4,109
Perry County	60.4	39.6	4,493
Pettis County	51.3	48.7	9,245
Phelps County	59.1	40.9	7,058
Pike County	53.6	46.4	4,334
Platte County	54.4	45.6	9,572
Polk County	58.1	41.9	4,198
Pulaski County	49.6	50.4	4,617
Putnam County	45.1	54.9	1,396
Ralls County	47.8	52.2	2,451
Randolph County	55.1	44.9	6,323
Ray County	49.1	50.9	5,541
Reynolds County	38.5	61.5	2,167
Ripley County	44.3	55.7	2,034
Saint Charles County	64.5	35.5	28,242
Saint Clair County	42.3	57.7	2,263
Saint Francois County	54.3	45.7	10,125
Saint Louis County	66.1	33.9	247,417
Saint Louis City	59.5	40.5	69,691
Sainte Genevieve County	62.5	37.5	3,447
Saline County	52.0	48.0	7,299
Schuyler County	46.9	53.1	1,423
Scotland County	38.2	61.8	1,629
Scott County	55.2	44.8	8,642
Shannon County	38.5	61.5	1,934
Shelby County	50.1	49.9	2,423
Stoddard County	45.1	54.9	5,538
Stone County	55.6	44.4	3,174
Sullivan County	40.6	59.4	2,095
Taney County	57.1	42.9	5,282
Texas County	43.4	56.6	5,404
Vernon County	53.1	46.9	4,982
Warren County	58.6	41.4	3,281
Washington County	49.4	50.6	2,926
Wayne County	40.3	59.7	2,601
Webster County	49.3	50.7	3,317
Worth County	34.2	65.8	1,241
Wright County	43.9	56.1	3,383
State total	57.53	42.47	1,041,000 [5]

See also

• Racial segregation in the United States
• History of education in Missouri
• Civil rights movement

References

1. "Missouri Amendment 5, Repeal Segregated Schools Measure (August 1976)". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on 3 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
2. "1976 Senate Journal, Volume 2". Missouri Digital Heritage. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
3. Mitchell, T. Wayne (27 July 1976). "State Voters to Be Asked To Outlaw Segregation". Newspapers. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
4. Shirk, Martha (8 August 1976). "Vote On Segregating Schools Is Embarrassing To Officials". Newspapers. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
5. "1976 Referendum Open Primary Election Results - Missouri". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Archived from the original on 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.