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Topic Guide

JoCoLibrary - Race Reads - Local Interest

By:

RaceProjectKC

Johnson County Library

Staff-created list

Race Project KC's recommendations for books exploring race issues in the United States.

By:

RaceProjectKC

Johnson County Library

25 items

25 items

Kansas City

Kansas City

by Gillis, Delia C.

Book - 2007

"Black America" series - Since 1803, when York, a slave in the Lewis and Clark expedition, stood on the bluffs overlooking Kansas City, African ...Show more "Black America" series - Since 1803, when York, a slave in the Lewis and Clark expedition, stood on the bluffs overlooking Kansas City, African Americans have contributed to the city's rich history. Men and women like Tom Bass, Emily Fisher, Sam Sheperd, and Hiram Young built the region in slavery and in freedom. Musicians such as Julie Lee, Bennie Moten, Joe Turner, and Count Basie turned Kansas City into a jazz mecca in the 1920s and '30s. The professional class made their voice heard with the establishment of the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team, the Kansas City Call newspaper, and election of the city's first black mayor, Emanuel Cleaver. With over 200 vintage images, Kansas City recreates this beautiful mosaic of African-American community. Show less

"Black America" series - Since 1803, when York, a slave in the Lewis and Clark expedition, stood on the bluffs overlooking Kansas City, African ...Show more "Black America" series - Since 1803, when York, a slave in the Lewis and Clark expedition, stood on the bluffs overlooking Kansas City, African Americans have contributed to the city's rich history. Men and women like Tom Bass, Emily Fisher, Sam Sheperd, and Hiram Young built the region in slavery and in freedom. Musicians such as Julie Lee, Bennie Moten, Joe Turner, and Count Basie turned Kansas City into a jazz mecca in the 1920s and '30s. The professional class made their voice heard with the establishment of the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team, the Kansas City Call newspaper, and election of the city's first black mayor, Emanuel Cleaver. With over 200 vintage images, Kansas City recreates this beautiful mosaic of African-American community. Show less

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A City Divided

A City Divided

The Racial Landscape of Kansas City, 1900-1960

by Schirmer, Sherry Lamb

Book - 2002

A City Divided traces the development of white Kansas Citians' perceptions of race and examines the ways in which those perceptions shaped both the physic...Show more A City Divided traces the development of white Kansas Citians' perceptions of race and examines the ways in which those perceptions shaped both the physical landscape of the city and the manner in which Kansas City was policed and governed. Because of rapid changes in land use and difficulties in suppressing crime and vice in Kansas City, the control of urban spaces became an acute concern, particularly for the white middle class, before race became a problematic issue in Kansas City. As the African American population grew in size and assertiveness, whites increasingly identified blacks with those factors that most deprived a given space of its middle-class character. Consequently, African Americans came to represent the antithesis of middle-class values, and the white middle class established its identity by excluding blacks from the urban spaces it occupied. By 1930, racial discrimination rested firmly on gender and family values as well as class. Inequitable law enforcement in the ghetto increased criminal activity, both real and perceived, within the African American community. White Kansas Citians maintained this system of racial exclusion and denigration in part by "misdirection," either by denying that exclusion existed or by claiming that segregation was necessary to prevent racial violence. Consequently, African American organizations sought to counter misdirection tactics. The most effective of these efforts followed World War II, when local black activists devised demonstration strategies that targeted misdirection specifically. At the same time, a new perception emerged among white liberals about the role of race in shaping society. Whites in the local civil rights movement acted upon the belief that integration would produce a better society by transforming human character. Successful in laying the foundation for desegregating public accommodations in Kansas City, black and white activists nonetheless failed to dismantle the systems of spatial exclusion and inequitable law enforcement or to eradicate the racial ideologies that underlay those systems. These racial perceptions continue to shape race relations in Kansas City and elsewhere. This study demystifies these perceptions by exploring their historical context. While there have been many studies of the emergence of ghettos in northern and border cities, and others of race, gender, segregation, and the origins of white ideologies, A City Divided is the first to address these topics in the context of a dynamic, urban society in the Midwest. Show less

A City Divided traces the development of white Kansas Citians' perceptions of race and examines the ways in which those perceptions shaped both the physic...Show more A City Divided traces the development of white Kansas Citians' perceptions of race and examines the ways in which those perceptions shaped both the physical landscape of the city and the manner in which Kansas City was policed and governed. Because of rapid changes in land use and difficulties in suppressing crime and vice in Kansas City, the control of urban spaces became an acute concern, particularly for the white middle class, before race became a problematic issue in Kansas City. As the African American population grew in size and assertiveness, whites increasingly identified blacks with those factors that most deprived a given space of its middle-class character. Consequently, African Americans came to represent the antithesis of middle-class values, and the white middle class established its identity by excluding blacks from the urban spaces it occupied. By 1930, racial discrimination rested firmly on gender and family values as well as class. Inequitable law enforcement in the ghetto increased criminal activity, both real and perceived, within the African American community. White Kansas Citians maintained this system of racial exclusion and denigration in part by "misdirection," either by denying that exclusion existed or by claiming that segregation was necessary to prevent racial violence. Consequently, African American organizations sought to counter misdirection tactics. The most effective of these efforts followed World War II, when local black activists devised demonstration strategies that targeted misdirection specifically. At the same time, a new perception emerged among white liberals about the role of race in shaping society. Whites in the local civil rights movement acted upon the belief that integration would produce a better society by transforming human character. Successful in laying the foundation for desegregating public accommodations in Kansas City, black and white activists nonetheless failed to dismantle the systems of spatial exclusion and inequitable law enforcement or to eradicate the racial ideologies that underlay those systems. These racial perceptions continue to shape race relations in Kansas City and elsewhere. This study demystifies these perceptions by exploring their historical context. While there have been many studies of the emergence of ghettos in northern and border cities, and others of race, gender, segregation, and the origins of white ideologies, A City Divided is the first to address these topics in the context of a dynamic, urban society in the Midwest. Show less

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Nicodemus

Nicodemus

Post-Reconstruction Politics and Racial Justice in Western Kansas

by Hinger, Charlotte

Book - 2016

Pushed out of the South as Reconstruction ended and as white landowners, employers, and "Redeemer" governments sought to reestablish the constra...Show more Pushed out of the South as Reconstruction ended and as white landowners, employers, and "Redeemer" governments sought to reestablish the constraints of slavery, thousands of African Americans migrated west in search of better opportunities. As the first well-known all-black community on the plains, Nicodemus, Kansas, became a national exemplar of black self-improvement. But Nicodemus also embodied many of the problems facing African Americans during this time. Diverging philosophies within the community, Charlotte Hinger argues, foretold the differences that continue to divide black politicians and intellectuals today. Nicodemus was a microcosm of all the issues facing black Americans in the late nineteenth century, and Hall, McCabe, and Niles are archetypes for powerful philosophies that have persisted into the twenty-first century. This study of their ideas and the ways they shaped Nicodemus offers a novel perspective on the most famous post-Civil War African American community in the West. Show less

Pushed out of the South as Reconstruction ended and as white landowners, employers, and "Redeemer" governments sought to reestablish the constra...Show more Pushed out of the South as Reconstruction ended and as white landowners, employers, and "Redeemer" governments sought to reestablish the constraints of slavery, thousands of African Americans migrated west in search of better opportunities. As the first well-known all-black community on the plains, Nicodemus, Kansas, became a national exemplar of black self-improvement. But Nicodemus also embodied many of the problems facing African Americans during this time. Diverging philosophies within the community, Charlotte Hinger argues, foretold the differences that continue to divide black politicians and intellectuals today. Nicodemus was a microcosm of all the issues facing black Americans in the late nineteenth century, and Hall, McCabe, and Niles are archetypes for powerful philosophies that have persisted into the twenty-first century. This study of their ideas and the ways they shaped Nicodemus offers a novel perspective on the most famous post-Civil War African American community in the West. Show less

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Some of My Best Friends Are Black

Some of My Best Friends Are Black

The Strange Story of Integration in America

by Colby, Tanner

Book - 2012

Chronicles America's troubling relationship with race through four interrelated stories: the transformation of a once-racist Birmingham school system; a K...Show more Chronicles America's troubling relationship with race through four interrelated stories: the transformation of a once-racist Birmingham school system; a Kansas City neighborhood's fight against housing discrimination; the curious racial divide of the Madison Avenue ad world; and a Louisiana Catholic parish's forty-year effort to build an integrated church. Show less

Chronicles America's troubling relationship with race through four interrelated stories: the transformation of a once-racist Birmingham school system; a K...Show more Chronicles America's troubling relationship with race through four interrelated stories: the transformation of a once-racist Birmingham school system; a Kansas City neighborhood's fight against housing discrimination; the curious racial divide of the Madison Avenue ad world; and a Louisiana Catholic parish's forty-year effort to build an integrated church. Show less

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This Is Not Dixie

This Is Not Dixie

Racist Violence in Kansas, 1861-1927

by Campney, Brent M. S.

Book - 2015

Often defined as a mostly southern phenomenon, racist violence existed everywhere. Brent Campney explodes the notion of the Midwest as a so-called land of...Show more Often defined as a mostly southern phenomenon, racist violence existed everywhere. Brent Campney explodes the notion of the Midwest as a so-called land of freedom with an in-depth study of assaults both active and threatened faced by African Americans in post "Civil War Kansas." Campney's capacious definition of white-on-black violence encompasses not only sensational demonstrations of white power like lynchings and race riots, but acts of threatened violence and the varied forms of pervasive routine violence--property damage, rape, forcible ejection from towns--used to intimidate African Americans. As he shows, such methods were a cornerstone of efforts to impose and maintain white supremacy. Yet Campney's broad consideration of racist violence also lends new insights into the ways people resisted threats. African Americans spontaneously hid fugitives and defused lynch mobs while using newspapers and civil rights groups to lay the groundwork for forms of institutionalized opposition that could fight racist violence through the courts and via public opinion. Ambitious and provocative, This Is Not Dixie rewrites fundamental narratives on mob action, race relations, African American resistance, and racism's grim past in the heartland. Show less

Often defined as a mostly southern phenomenon, racist violence existed everywhere. Brent Campney explodes the notion of the Midwest as a so-called land of...Show more Often defined as a mostly southern phenomenon, racist violence existed everywhere. Brent Campney explodes the notion of the Midwest as a so-called land of freedom with an in-depth study of assaults both active and threatened faced by African Americans in post "Civil War Kansas." Campney's capacious definition of white-on-black violence encompasses not only sensational demonstrations of white power like lynchings and race riots, but acts of threatened violence and the varied forms of pervasive routine violence--property damage, rape, forcible ejection from towns--used to intimidate African Americans. As he shows, such methods were a cornerstone of efforts to impose and maintain white supremacy. Yet Campney's broad consideration of racist violence also lends new insights into the ways people resisted threats. African Americans spontaneously hid fugitives and defused lynch mobs while using newspapers and civil rights groups to lay the groundwork for forms of institutionalized opposition that could fight racist violence through the courts and via public opinion. Ambitious and provocative, This Is Not Dixie rewrites fundamental narratives on mob action, race relations, African American resistance, and racism's grim past in the heartland. Show less

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Racism in Kansas City

Racism in Kansas City

A Short History

by Griffin, G. S.

Book - 2015

Kansas Citians, like so many others across the nation, wonder, "Could it happen here?" The answer lies in this study of Kansas City's darkest mo...Show more Kansas Citians, like so many others across the nation, wonder, "Could it happen here?" The answer lies in this study of Kansas City's darkest moments-slavery, the border war, the Civil War, bombings of black homes, lynchings, the segregation of neighborhoods and schools, the civil rights struggle, the Black Panther movement, the 1968 race riot, assassinations in the 1970s, the infamous Missouri v. Jenkins U.S. Supreme Court case, and the racial inequities that still plague Kansas City today. Threaded throughout Racism in Kansas City are stories of those who fought ardently against racist policies . . . and won. Show less

Kansas Citians, like so many others across the nation, wonder, "Could it happen here?" The answer lies in this study of Kansas City's darkest mo...Show more Kansas Citians, like so many others across the nation, wonder, "Could it happen here?" The answer lies in this study of Kansas City's darkest moments-slavery, the border war, the Civil War, bombings of black homes, lynchings, the segregation of neighborhoods and schools, the civil rights struggle, the Black Panther movement, the 1968 race riot, assassinations in the 1970s, the infamous Missouri v. Jenkins U.S. Supreme Court case, and the racial inequities that still plague Kansas City today. Threaded throughout Racism in Kansas City are stories of those who fought ardently against racist policies . . . and won. Show less

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Race and Meaning

Race and Meaning

The African American Experience in Missouri

by Kremer, Gary R.

Book - 2014

No one has written more about the African American experience in Missouri over the past four decades than Gary Kremer, and now for the first time fourteen...Show more No one has written more about the African American experience in Missouri over the past four decades than Gary Kremer, and now for the first time fourteen of his best articles on the subject are available in one place with the publication of Race and Meaning: The African American Experience in Missouri . By placing the articles in chronological order of historical events rather than by publication date, Kremer combines them into one detailed account that addresses issues such as the transition from slavery to freedom for African Americans in Missouri, all-black rural communities, and the lives of African Americans seeking new opportunities in Missouri's cities. In addition to his previously published articles, Kremer includes a personal introduction revealing how he first became interested in researching African American history and how his education at Lincoln University--and specifically the influence of his mentor, Lorenzo Greene--helped him to realize his eventual career path. Race and Meaning makes a collection of largely unheard stories spanning much of Missouri history accessible for the first time in one place, allowing each article to be read in the context of the others, and creating a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts. Whether you are a student, researcher, or general reader, this book will be essential to anyone with an interest in Missouri history. Show less

No one has written more about the African American experience in Missouri over the past four decades than Gary Kremer, and now for the first time fourteen...Show more No one has written more about the African American experience in Missouri over the past four decades than Gary Kremer, and now for the first time fourteen of his best articles on the subject are available in one place with the publication of Race and Meaning: The African American Experience in Missouri . By placing the articles in chronological order of historical events rather than by publication date, Kremer combines them into one detailed account that addresses issues such as the transition from slavery to freedom for African Americans in Missouri, all-black rural communities, and the lives of African Americans seeking new opportunities in Missouri's cities. In addition to his previously published articles, Kremer includes a personal introduction revealing how he first became interested in researching African American history and how his education at Lincoln University--and specifically the influence of his mentor, Lorenzo Greene--helped him to realize his eventual career path. Race and Meaning makes a collection of largely unheard stories spanning much of Missouri history accessible for the first time in one place, allowing each article to be read in the context of the others, and creating a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts. Whether you are a student, researcher, or general reader, this book will be essential to anyone with an interest in Missouri history. Show less

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Slavery on the Periphery

Slavery on the Periphery

The Kansas-Missouri Border in the Antebellum and Civil War Eras

by Epps, Kristen

Book - 2018

Slavery on the Periphery focuses on nineteen counties on the Kansas-Missouri border, tracing slavery's rise and fall from the earliest years of American s...Show more Slavery on the Periphery focuses on nineteen counties on the Kansas-Missouri border, tracing slavery's rise and fall from the earliest years of American settlement through the Civil War along this critical geographical, political, and social fault line. Show less

Slavery on the Periphery focuses on nineteen counties on the Kansas-Missouri border, tracing slavery's rise and fall from the earliest years of American s...Show more Slavery on the Periphery focuses on nineteen counties on the Kansas-Missouri border, tracing slavery's rise and fall from the earliest years of American settlement through the Civil War along this critical geographical, political, and social fault line. Show less

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The Ku Klux Klan in Kansas City, Kansas

The Ku Klux Klan in Kansas City, Kansas

by Rives, Tim

Book - 2019

The Ku Klux Klan kicked off a nationwide revival in 1921 and took Kansas City, Kansas, by storm. The majority white population--alarmed by the influx of i...Show more The Ku Klux Klan kicked off a nationwide revival in 1921 and took Kansas City, Kansas, by storm. The majority white population--alarmed by the influx of immigrants, Catholics and Jews--joined the Klan in thousands. The Klan held picnics drawing crowds of twenty-five thousand and parades up Minnesota Avenue with thousands of Klansmen, electric lights and robed horses. They also intimidated African Americans, vandalized Catholic cemeteries and censored "offensive" books from public library shelves. Its members fed a political machine, electing more than one hundred Klansmen to local offices, from district attorney to mayor. Author Tim Rives shares this troubled and little-known story, where the men of the Klan's inner circle ruled the city for nearly thirty years. Show less

The Ku Klux Klan kicked off a nationwide revival in 1921 and took Kansas City, Kansas, by storm. The majority white population--alarmed by the influx of i...Show more The Ku Klux Klan kicked off a nationwide revival in 1921 and took Kansas City, Kansas, by storm. The majority white population--alarmed by the influx of immigrants, Catholics and Jews--joined the Klan in thousands. The Klan held picnics drawing crowds of twenty-five thousand and parades up Minnesota Avenue with thousands of Klansmen, electric lights and robed horses. They also intimidated African Americans, vandalized Catholic cemeteries and censored "offensive" books from public library shelves. Its members fed a political machine, electing more than one hundred Klansmen to local offices, from district attorney to mayor. Author Tim Rives shares this troubled and little-known story, where the men of the Klan's inner circle ruled the city for nearly thirty years. Show less

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Anchored in Bias

Anchored in Bias

Fired Over "white Tears" A Journalist's Mission to Challenge the System

by Benson, Lisa

Book - 2020

In this timely book, journalist Lisa Benson shares her journey from the newsroom to the courtroom in her fight for justice at a local television station. ...Show more In this timely book, journalist Lisa Benson shares her journey from the newsroom to the courtroom in her fight for justice at a local television station. Lisa made national news when her twenty-year career as a news reporter / anchor ended abruptly after she shared an article on her personal Facebook page entitled, "How White Women Use Strategic Tears to Avoid Accountability" written by fellow journalist Ruby Hamad-an article that offended two of her white female coworkers, which ultimately got her fired. In this book, courtroom testimony, along with exhibits, prove that the employer expected to support Lisa's career goals only wanted to harness and control her labor while silencing her voice. Guilty of racial ignorance, Lisa foolishly believed that if she worked hard, played by the rules, and people liked her, she could avoid the racial pitfalls that swallowed the dreams of her forefathers and condemned others to a life of criminalization, poverty, and shame. Show less

In this timely book, journalist Lisa Benson shares her journey from the newsroom to the courtroom in her fight for justice at a local television station. ...Show more In this timely book, journalist Lisa Benson shares her journey from the newsroom to the courtroom in her fight for justice at a local television station. Lisa made national news when her twenty-year career as a news reporter / anchor ended abruptly after she shared an article on her personal Facebook page entitled, "How White Women Use Strategic Tears to Avoid Accountability" written by fellow journalist Ruby Hamad-an article that offended two of her white female coworkers, which ultimately got her fired. In this book, courtroom testimony, along with exhibits, prove that the employer expected to support Lisa's career goals only wanted to harness and control her labor while silencing her voice. Guilty of racial ignorance, Lisa foolishly believed that if she worked hard, played by the rules, and people liked her, she could avoid the racial pitfalls that swallowed the dreams of her forefathers and condemned others to a life of criminalization, poverty, and shame. Show less

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Complex Justice

Complex Justice

The Case of Missouri V. Jenkins

by Dunn, Joshua M.

Book - 2008

In 1987 Judge Russell Clark mandated tax increases to help pay for improvements to the Kansas City, Missouri, School District in an effort to lure white s...Show more In 1987 Judge Russell Clark mandated tax increases to help pay for improvements to the Kansas City, Missouri, School District in an effort to lure white students and quality teachers back to the inner-city district. Yet even after increasing employee salaries and constructing elaborate facilities at a cost of more than $2 billion, the district remained overwhelmingly segregated and student achievement remained far below national averages. Just eight years later the U.S. Supreme Court began reversing these initiatives, signifying a major retreat from Brown v. Board of Education . In Kansas City, African American families opposed to the district court's efforts organized a takeover of the school board and requested that the court case be closed. Joshua Dunn argues that Judge Clark's ruling was not the result of tyrannical "judicial activism" but was rather the logical outcome of previous contradictory Supreme Court doctrines. High Court decisions, Dunn explains, necessarily limit the policy choices available to lower court judges, introducing complications the Supreme Court would not anticipate. He demonstrates that the Kansas City case is a model lesson for the types of problems that develop for lower courts in any area in which the Supreme Court attempts to create significant change. Dunn's exploration of this landmark case deepens our understanding of when courts can and cannot successfully create and manage public policy. Show less

In 1987 Judge Russell Clark mandated tax increases to help pay for improvements to the Kansas City, Missouri, School District in an effort to lure white s...Show more In 1987 Judge Russell Clark mandated tax increases to help pay for improvements to the Kansas City, Missouri, School District in an effort to lure white students and quality teachers back to the inner-city district. Yet even after increasing employee salaries and constructing elaborate facilities at a cost of more than $2 billion, the district remained overwhelmingly segregated and student achievement remained far below national averages. Just eight years later the U.S. Supreme Court began reversing these initiatives, signifying a major retreat from Brown v. Board of Education . In Kansas City, African American families opposed to the district court's efforts organized a takeover of the school board and requested that the court case be closed. Joshua Dunn argues that Judge Clark's ruling was not the result of tyrannical "judicial activism" but was rather the logical outcome of previous contradictory Supreme Court doctrines. High Court decisions, Dunn explains, necessarily limit the policy choices available to lower court judges, introducing complications the Supreme Court would not anticipate. He demonstrates that the Kansas City case is a model lesson for the types of problems that develop for lower courts in any area in which the Supreme Court attempts to create significant change. Dunn's exploration of this landmark case deepens our understanding of when courts can and cannot successfully create and manage public policy. Show less

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Summoned at Midnight

Summoned at Midnight

A Story of Race and the Last Military Executions at Fort Leavenworth

by Serrano, Richard A

Book - 2019

In the late 1950s, as the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. was at last gaining ground, 16 soldiers sat confined in basement cells on death row in the arm...Show more In the late 1950s, as the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. was at last gaining ground, 16 soldiers sat confined in basement cells on death row in the army's Fort Leavenworth maximum security prison in Kansas. Exactly eight were white and eight were black. All of the white soldiers were commuted. Not only were their lives spared, but they all were eventually released and returned to their families. They benefited from powerful Washington powerbrokers, including the Eisenhower administration and Congress, high-priced, specialized lawyers and a groundswell of public support. Only black soldiers were hung. They were summoned at midnight to a wooden gallows and dropped to their deaths. They enjoyed no Washington support, could not afford expensive lawyers and had little public backing. Their casefiles are meager - often containing a desperate, misspelled letter from a mother pleading for her son's life. Then in early 1961 a final case reached the Oval Office in Washington. President John Kennedy, a Democrat, a liberal, and a Catholic, a leader strong on Civil Rights, was still in his First Hundred Days when confronted with whether to spare army Private John A. Bennett. Unlike all the other condemned men, white and black, Bennett was not a murderer. He had killed no one. Instead he was sentenced to die for raping a white girl. But like the other men soldiers who were hung, Bennett was black. Were he to die, he would become the last soldier executed by the army, the last in nearly 60 years. Show less

In the late 1950s, as the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. was at last gaining ground, 16 soldiers sat confined in basement cells on death row in the arm...Show more In the late 1950s, as the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. was at last gaining ground, 16 soldiers sat confined in basement cells on death row in the army's Fort Leavenworth maximum security prison in Kansas. Exactly eight were white and eight were black. All of the white soldiers were commuted. Not only were their lives spared, but they all were eventually released and returned to their families. They benefited from powerful Washington powerbrokers, including the Eisenhower administration and Congress, high-priced, specialized lawyers and a groundswell of public support. Only black soldiers were hung. They were summoned at midnight to a wooden gallows and dropped to their deaths. They enjoyed no Washington support, could not afford expensive lawyers and had little public backing. Their casefiles are meager - often containing a desperate, misspelled letter from a mother pleading for her son's life. Then in early 1961 a final case reached the Oval Office in Washington. President John Kennedy, a Democrat, a liberal, and a Catholic, a leader strong on Civil Rights, was still in his First Hundred Days when confronted with whether to spare army Private John A. Bennett. Unlike all the other condemned men, white and black, Bennett was not a murderer. He had killed no one. Instead he was sentenced to die for raping a white girl. But like the other men soldiers who were hung, Bennett was black. Were he to die, he would become the last soldier executed by the army, the last in nearly 60 years. Show less

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Race, Real Estate, and Uneven Development

Race, Real Estate, and Uneven Development

The Kansas City Experience, 1900-2010

by Gotham, Kevin Fox

Book - 2014

More than a century of racist policy, lending practices, restrictive covenants, and "gentleman's agreements" ensured that Kansas City developed ...Show more More than a century of racist policy, lending practices, restrictive covenants, and "gentleman's agreements" ensured that Kansas City developed as and remains a metropolis heavily segregated by race. Find out why east side vs. west side matters in Kansas City. Show less

More than a century of racist policy, lending practices, restrictive covenants, and "gentleman's agreements" ensured that Kansas City developed ...Show more More than a century of racist policy, lending practices, restrictive covenants, and "gentleman's agreements" ensured that Kansas City developed as and remains a metropolis heavily segregated by race. Find out why east side vs. west side matters in Kansas City. Show less

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Continuum

Continuum

Native North American Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

by Torrence, Gaylord

Book - 2020

This landmark publication brings North American Indigenous art to the fore with the presentation of 280 objects from the culturally and aesthetically rich...Show more This landmark publication brings North American Indigenous art to the fore with the presentation of 280 objects from the culturally and aesthetically rich collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. More than two-thirds of the volume's featured works--paintings, sculptures, drawings, regalia, ceramics, textiles, and baskets--have never before appeared in publication. These profound artistic achievements represent the traditions of Native cultures across the US and Canada in a continuum of visual expression from pre-encounter to the present. W. Richard West, Jr., President and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West and Founding Director and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, opens the book with a compelling essay contrasting Western and Indigenous understandings of Native art. In a second essay, Curator of American Art Stephanie Fox Knappe contextualizes the voices of twenty-two contemporary artists. Full-page detail images of the artist's works are included. The inspired vision underlying the collection and this publication is articulated by Curator of Native American Art Gaylord Torrence, who traces the evolution of the Nelson-Atkins holdings and their significant expansion since 2001. He also provides an overview of the traditions of seven geographical regions and offers a framework for engaging with these remarkable works. New voices, fresh perspectives, and masterworks certain to find their place in the canon of Native American art history combine in an enlightening and important survey. Show less

This landmark publication brings North American Indigenous art to the fore with the presentation of 280 objects from the culturally and aesthetically rich...Show more This landmark publication brings North American Indigenous art to the fore with the presentation of 280 objects from the culturally and aesthetically rich collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. More than two-thirds of the volume's featured works--paintings, sculptures, drawings, regalia, ceramics, textiles, and baskets--have never before appeared in publication. These profound artistic achievements represent the traditions of Native cultures across the US and Canada in a continuum of visual expression from pre-encounter to the present. W. Richard West, Jr., President and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West and Founding Director and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, opens the book with a compelling essay contrasting Western and Indigenous understandings of Native art. In a second essay, Curator of American Art Stephanie Fox Knappe contextualizes the voices of twenty-two contemporary artists. Full-page detail images of the artist's works are included. The inspired vision underlying the collection and this publication is articulated by Curator of Native American Art Gaylord Torrence, who traces the evolution of the Nelson-Atkins holdings and their significant expansion since 2001. He also provides an overview of the traditions of seven geographical regions and offers a framework for engaging with these remarkable works. New voices, fresh perspectives, and masterworks certain to find their place in the canon of Native American art history combine in an enlightening and important survey. Show less

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Cross-X

Cross-X

by Miller, Joe

Book - 2006

In Cross-X, journalist Joe Miller follows the Kansas City Central High School's debate squad through the 2002 season that ends with a top-ten finish at th...Show more In Cross-X, journalist Joe Miller follows the Kansas City Central High School's debate squad through the 2002 season that ends with a top-ten finish at the national championships in Atlanta. Here is the riveting and poignant story of four debaters and their coach as they battle formidable opponents from elite prep schools, bureaucrats who seem maddeningly determined to hold them back, friends and family who are mired in poverty and drug addiction, and perhaps most daunting their own self-destructive choices. Show less

In Cross-X, journalist Joe Miller follows the Kansas City Central High School's debate squad through the 2002 season that ends with a top-ten finish at th...Show more In Cross-X, journalist Joe Miller follows the Kansas City Central High School's debate squad through the 2002 season that ends with a top-ten finish at the national championships in Atlanta. Here is the riveting and poignant story of four debaters and their coach as they battle formidable opponents from elite prep schools, bureaucrats who seem maddeningly determined to hold them back, friends and family who are mired in poverty and drug addiction, and perhaps most daunting their own self-destructive choices. Show less

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The Darkest Period

The Darkest Period

The Kanza Indians and Their Last Homeland, 1846-1873

by Parks, Ronald D.

Book - 2014

Before their relocation to the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, the Kanza Indians spent twenty-seven years on a reservation near Council Grove, K...Show more Before their relocation to the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, the Kanza Indians spent twenty-seven years on a reservation near Council Grove, Kansas, on the Santa Fe Trail. In The Darkest Period , Ronald D. Parks tells the story of those years of decline in Kanza history following the loss of the tribe?s original homeland in northeastern and central Kansas. Parks makes use of accounts by agents, missionaries, journalists, and ethnographers in crafting this tale. He addresses both the big picture?the effects of Manifest Destiny?and local particulars such as the devastating impact on the tribe of the Santa Fe Trail. The result is a story of human beings rather than historical abstractions. The Kanzas confronted powerful Euro-American forces during their last years in Kansas. Government officials and their policies, Protestant educators, predatory economic interests, and a host of continent-wide events affected the tribe profoundly. As Anglo-Americans invaded the Kanza homeland, the prairie was plowed and game disappeared. The Kanzas? holy sites were desecrated and the tribe was increasingly confined to the reservation. During this ?darkest period,? as chief Allegawaho called it in 1871, the Kanzas? Neosho reservation population diminished by more than 60 percent. As one survivor put it, ?They died of a broken heart, they died of a broken spirit.? But despite this adversity, as Parks?s narrative portrays, the Kanza people continued their relationship with the land?its weather, plants, animals, water, and landforms. Parks does not reduce the Kanzas? story to one of hapless Indian victims traduced by the American government. For, while encroachment, disease, and environmental deterioration exerted enormous pressure on tribal cohesion, the Kanzas persisted in their struggle to exercise political autonomy while maintaining traditional social customs up to the time of removal in 1873 and beyond. Show less

Before their relocation to the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, the Kanza Indians spent twenty-seven years on a reservation near Council Grove, K...Show more Before their relocation to the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, the Kanza Indians spent twenty-seven years on a reservation near Council Grove, Kansas, on the Santa Fe Trail. In The Darkest Period , Ronald D. Parks tells the story of those years of decline in Kanza history following the loss of the tribe?s original homeland in northeastern and central Kansas. Parks makes use of accounts by agents, missionaries, journalists, and ethnographers in crafting this tale. He addresses both the big picture?the effects of Manifest Destiny?and local particulars such as the devastating impact on the tribe of the Santa Fe Trail. The result is a story of human beings rather than historical abstractions. The Kanzas confronted powerful Euro-American forces during their last years in Kansas. Government officials and their policies, Protestant educators, predatory economic interests, and a host of continent-wide events affected the tribe profoundly. As Anglo-Americans invaded the Kanza homeland, the prairie was plowed and game disappeared. The Kanzas? holy sites were desecrated and the tribe was increasingly confined to the reservation. During this ?darkest period,? as chief Allegawaho called it in 1871, the Kanzas? Neosho reservation population diminished by more than 60 percent. As one survivor put it, ?They died of a broken heart, they died of a broken spirit.? But despite this adversity, as Parks?s narrative portrays, the Kanza people continued their relationship with the land?its weather, plants, animals, water, and landforms. Parks does not reduce the Kanzas? story to one of hapless Indian victims traduced by the American government. For, while encroachment, disease, and environmental deterioration exerted enormous pressure on tribal cohesion, the Kanzas persisted in their struggle to exercise political autonomy while maintaining traditional social customs up to the time of removal in 1873 and beyond. Show less

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On Slavery's Border

On Slavery's Border

Missouri's Small-slaveholding Households, 1815-1865

by Burke, Diane Mutti

Book - 2010

On Slavery's Border is a bottom-up examination of how slavery and slaveholding were influenced by both the geography and the scale of the slaveholding ent...Show more On Slavery's Border is a bottom-up examination of how slavery and slaveholding were influenced by both the geography and the scale of the slaveholding enterprise. Mutti Burke argues that economic and social factors gave Missouri slavery an especially intimate quality. Owners directly oversaw their slaves and lived in close proximity with them, sometimes in the same building. White Missourians believed this made for a milder version of bondage. Some slaves, who expressed fear of being sold further south, seemed to agree. Mutti Burke reveals, however, that while small slaveholding created some advantages for slaves, it also made them more vulnerable to abuse and interference in their personal lives. In a region with easy access to the free states, the perception that slavery was threatened spawned white anxiety, which frequently led to violent reassertions of supremacy. Show less

On Slavery's Border is a bottom-up examination of how slavery and slaveholding were influenced by both the geography and the scale of the slaveholding ent...Show more On Slavery's Border is a bottom-up examination of how slavery and slaveholding were influenced by both the geography and the scale of the slaveholding enterprise. Mutti Burke argues that economic and social factors gave Missouri slavery an especially intimate quality. Owners directly oversaw their slaves and lived in close proximity with them, sometimes in the same building. White Missourians believed this made for a milder version of bondage. Some slaves, who expressed fear of being sold further south, seemed to agree. Mutti Burke reveals, however, that while small slaveholding created some advantages for slaves, it also made them more vulnerable to abuse and interference in their personal lives. In a region with easy access to the free states, the perception that slavery was threatened spawned white anxiety, which frequently led to violent reassertions of supremacy. Show less

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Take up the Black Man's Burden

Take up the Black Man's Burden

Kansas City's African American Communities, 1865-1939

by Coulter, Charles E.

Book - 2006

Examines the people and institutions that shaped Kansas City's Black communities from the end of the Civil War until the outbreak of World War II, blendin...Show more Examines the people and institutions that shaped Kansas City's Black communities from the end of the Civil War until the outbreak of World War II, blending rich historical research with first-person accounts that allow participants in this historical drama to tell their own stories of struggle and accomplishment. Show less

Examines the people and institutions that shaped Kansas City's Black communities from the end of the Civil War until the outbreak of World War II, blendin...Show more Examines the people and institutions that shaped Kansas City's Black communities from the end of the Civil War until the outbreak of World War II, blending rich historical research with first-person accounts that allow participants in this historical drama to tell their own stories of struggle and accomplishment. Show less

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The Country Club District of Kansas City

The Country Club District of Kansas City

by Morton, LaDene

Book - 2015

One of the grand experiments of American urban planning lies tucked within the heart of Kansas City. J.C. Nichols prized the Country Club District as his ...Show more One of the grand experiments of American urban planning lies tucked within the heart of Kansas City. J.C. Nichols prized the Country Club District as his life's work, and the scope of his vision required fifty years of careful development. Begun in 1905 and extending over a swath of six thousand acres, the project attracted national attention to a city still forging its identity. While the district is home to many of Kansas City's most exclusive residential areas and commercial properties, its boundaries remain unmarked and its story largely unknown. Follow LaDene Morton along the well-appointed boulevards of this model community's rich legacy. Show less

One of the grand experiments of American urban planning lies tucked within the heart of Kansas City. J.C. Nichols prized the Country Club District as his ...Show more One of the grand experiments of American urban planning lies tucked within the heart of Kansas City. J.C. Nichols prized the Country Club District as his life's work, and the scope of his vision required fifty years of careful development. Begun in 1905 and extending over a swath of six thousand acres, the project attracted national attention to a city still forging its identity. While the district is home to many of Kansas City's most exclusive residential areas and commercial properties, its boundaries remain unmarked and its story largely unknown. Follow LaDene Morton along the well-appointed boulevards of this model community's rich legacy. Show less

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Kansas City Black History Tour

Kansas City Black History Tour

Script From 12th to 18th Street

by Stafford, Erik Keith

Book - 2016

The Kansas City Black History Tour was absolutely amazing. I was unaware of all the historical facts located in areas of my childhood that made a relevant...Show more The Kansas City Black History Tour was absolutely amazing. I was unaware of all the historical facts located in areas of my childhood that made a relevant impact in our cultural history such as the civil rights movement...Our tour guide Erik Keith Stafford...is a very knowledgeable black historian that gave a very intricate and descriptive accounts of the struggles, accomplishments and contributions African Americans of Kansas City made to our overall turbulent history of America. This is a MUST tour for not only yourself but for our children as well. Knowledge is power....please take the time to learn where you derive from . ..honor your past so you and your children can produce a prosperous future. Show less

The Kansas City Black History Tour was absolutely amazing. I was unaware of all the historical facts located in areas of my childhood that made a relevant...Show more The Kansas City Black History Tour was absolutely amazing. I was unaware of all the historical facts located in areas of my childhood that made a relevant impact in our cultural history such as the civil rights movement...Our tour guide Erik Keith Stafford...is a very knowledgeable black historian that gave a very intricate and descriptive accounts of the struggles, accomplishments and contributions African Americans of Kansas City made to our overall turbulent history of America. This is a MUST tour for not only yourself but for our children as well. Knowledge is power....please take the time to learn where you derive from . ..honor your past so you and your children can produce a prosperous future. Show less

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Exodusters

Exodusters

Black Migration to Kansas After Reconstruction

by Painter, Nell Irvin

Book - 1986

One of human history's great migrations began as the Civil War's guns finally fell silent. Seeking land and a bright future, thousands of freed slaves pou...Show more One of human history's great migrations began as the Civil War's guns finally fell silent. Seeking land and a bright future, thousands of freed slaves poured out of the Deep South toward the West. The response to the migration and the welcome the Exodusters received as they moved West was varied and complex. Show less

One of human history's great migrations began as the Civil War's guns finally fell silent. Seeking land and a bright future, thousands of freed slaves pou...Show more One of human history's great migrations began as the Civil War's guns finally fell silent. Seeking land and a bright future, thousands of freed slaves poured out of the Deep South toward the West. The response to the migration and the welcome the Exodusters received as they moved West was varied and complex. Show less

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Lucile H. Bluford and the Kansas City Call

Lucile H. Bluford and the Kansas City Call

Activist Voice for Social Justice

by Brooks, Sheila Dean

Book - 2018

This book on publisher and editor Lucile H. Bluford examines her journalistic writings on social, economic, and political issues; her strong opinionated v...Show more This book on publisher and editor Lucile H. Bluford examines her journalistic writings on social, economic, and political issues; her strong opinionated views on African Americans and women; and whether there were consistent themes, biases, and assumptions in her stories that may have influenced news coverage in the Kansas City Call. It focuses on a selection of Bluford's news stories and editorials form 1968 to 1983 as examples of how she articulated a Black feminist standpoint advocating a Black liberation agenda--equal access to decent jobs, affordable health care and housing, and a better education in Kansas City, Missouri. Bluford's writings represented what the mainstream news ignored, exposing injustices and inequalities in the African American community and among feminists. Show less

This book on publisher and editor Lucile H. Bluford examines her journalistic writings on social, economic, and political issues; her strong opinionated v...Show more This book on publisher and editor Lucile H. Bluford examines her journalistic writings on social, economic, and political issues; her strong opinionated views on African Americans and women; and whether there were consistent themes, biases, and assumptions in her stories that may have influenced news coverage in the Kansas City Call. It focuses on a selection of Bluford's news stories and editorials form 1968 to 1983 as examples of how she articulated a Black feminist standpoint advocating a Black liberation agenda--equal access to decent jobs, affordable health care and housing, and a better education in Kansas City, Missouri. Bluford's writings represented what the mainstream news ignored, exposing injustices and inequalities in the African American community and among feminists. Show less

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Binding Us Together

Binding Us Together

A Civil Rights Activist Refelcts on A Lifetime of Community and Public Service

by Brooks, Alvin L.

Book - 2021

A heartfelt, inspiring narrative that is inextricably linked to the nation's past and present, civil rights activist and public servant Alvin Brooks share...Show more A heartfelt, inspiring narrative that is inextricably linked to the nation's past and present, civil rights activist and public servant Alvin Brooks shares engaging, funny, and tragic stories of his life and career of advocacy. Few have faced adversity like Alvin Brooks has. He was born into an impoverished family, he nearly lost his adoptive father to the justice system of the South, and he barely survived a health crisis in infancy. However, his greatest challenges would be learning how to navigate a racist society as a young boy and then later protecting his beloved wife, Carol, and their six children. Despite all the adversity he faced, Brooks became a lifelong leader and a servant of his community. Brooks served as one of Kansas City's first Black police officers in the fifties, helped to heal the racial divide after the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., founded the AdHoc Group Against Crime, affecting real change in city government, and met with successive American presidents on national issues. When it comes to criminal justice, civil rights, and racial inequity, Brooks's lifetime of building bridges across society's divides helps us better understand our past, make sense of our present, and envision our future. Alvin Brooks proves that a good heart, a generous spirit, and a lot of work can connect the world; one person can make a difference by binding us together. Show less

A heartfelt, inspiring narrative that is inextricably linked to the nation's past and present, civil rights activist and public servant Alvin Brooks share...Show more A heartfelt, inspiring narrative that is inextricably linked to the nation's past and present, civil rights activist and public servant Alvin Brooks shares engaging, funny, and tragic stories of his life and career of advocacy. Few have faced adversity like Alvin Brooks has. He was born into an impoverished family, he nearly lost his adoptive father to the justice system of the South, and he barely survived a health crisis in infancy. However, his greatest challenges would be learning how to navigate a racist society as a young boy and then later protecting his beloved wife, Carol, and their six children. Despite all the adversity he faced, Brooks became a lifelong leader and a servant of his community. Brooks served as one of Kansas City's first Black police officers in the fifties, helped to heal the racial divide after the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., founded the AdHoc Group Against Crime, affecting real change in city government, and met with successive American presidents on national issues. When it comes to criminal justice, civil rights, and racial inequity, Brooks's lifetime of building bridges across society's divides helps us better understand our past, make sense of our present, and envision our future. Alvin Brooks proves that a good heart, a generous spirit, and a lot of work can connect the world; one person can make a difference by binding us together. Show less

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The J. C. Nichols Chronicle

The J. C. Nichols Chronicle

The Authorized Story of the Man, His Company, and His Legacy, 1880-1994

by Pearson, Robert

Book - 1994

City planner, developer, community builder, and realtor, Kansas Citian Jesse Clyde Nichols (1880-1949) was one of America's most influential entrepreneurs...Show more City planner, developer, community builder, and realtor, Kansas Citian Jesse Clyde Nichols (1880-1949) was one of America's most influential entrepreneurs in twentieth-century land development. Adapting the railroad and streetcar suburb to the automobile age, Nichols helped to shape not only his hometown but also the nation. He pioneered the development of both permanently stable (upper middle-class) residential neighborhoods and (in 1923) of the automobile-oriented shopping center, which became the prototype for the postwar shopping mall. As early as 1940, he also initiated mass-produced, mass-market suburban developments. Attesting to his enduring legacy in Kansas City are the Country Club District, a model community of beautiful homes; the Country Club Plaza, a seventy-year-old mecca for shoppers; and a host of well-preserved suburban communities south of the downtown. In addition to his impact on living spaces, Nichols contributed to the social, cultural, and economic life of Kansas City. The Pearsons make clear that he was the driving force behind the Liberty Memorial, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kansas City University (now the University of Missouri at Kansas City) and the Midwest Research Institute. Active in public service both locally and nationally during the last third of his life, Nichols helped to bring industry to the Plains states and was the man most responsible for making the Missouri River navigable. The authorized story of the man and his company is based on family papers, company records, and archival sources. In addition the authors have drawn on interviews with the Nichols family, company associates and officials, and civic leaders in Kansas City and elsewhere. Lavishly illustrated, the chronicle provides the reader with an insider's view of J. C. Nichols's life, his legacy, and his family. Show less

City planner, developer, community builder, and realtor, Kansas Citian Jesse Clyde Nichols (1880-1949) was one of America's most influential entrepreneurs...Show more City planner, developer, community builder, and realtor, Kansas Citian Jesse Clyde Nichols (1880-1949) was one of America's most influential entrepreneurs in twentieth-century land development. Adapting the railroad and streetcar suburb to the automobile age, Nichols helped to shape not only his hometown but also the nation. He pioneered the development of both permanently stable (upper middle-class) residential neighborhoods and (in 1923) of the automobile-oriented shopping center, which became the prototype for the postwar shopping mall. As early as 1940, he also initiated mass-produced, mass-market suburban developments. Attesting to his enduring legacy in Kansas City are the Country Club District, a model community of beautiful homes; the Country Club Plaza, a seventy-year-old mecca for shoppers; and a host of well-preserved suburban communities south of the downtown. In addition to his impact on living spaces, Nichols contributed to the social, cultural, and economic life of Kansas City. The Pearsons make clear that he was the driving force behind the Liberty Memorial, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kansas City University (now the University of Missouri at Kansas City) and the Midwest Research Institute. Active in public service both locally and nationally during the last third of his life, Nichols helped to bring industry to the Plains states and was the man most responsible for making the Missouri River navigable. The authorized story of the man and his company is based on family papers, company records, and archival sources. In addition the authors have drawn on interviews with the Nichols family, company associates and officials, and civic leaders in Kansas City and elsewhere. Lavishly illustrated, the chronicle provides the reader with an insider's view of J. C. Nichols's life, his legacy, and his family. Show less

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The King of Kings County

The King of Kings County

A Novel

by Terrell, Whitney

Book - 2005

In The King of Kings County, Terrell again takes us to his native Kansas City for a heartrending look at a young man's coming- of-age as he confronts his ...Show more In The King of Kings County, Terrell again takes us to his native Kansas City for a heartrending look at a young man's coming- of-age as he confronts his father's and his city's dissolution. In 1956, Alton Acheson--part conman, part visionary--begins building a suburban empire amid the cornfields of Kings County. As Alton bluffs his way into prosperity, his son, Jack, becomes a reluctant accomplice to his grand ambitions. But when greed, corruption, and organized crime combine to create an urban nightmare instead--abandoned buildings, ghettos, and slums--Jack is forced into a clear-eyed confrontation with his father's legacy. This extraordinary saga, The King of Kings County, examines the manufacturing of an American Dream, one whose contradictions divide us to this day. Show less

In The King of Kings County, Terrell again takes us to his native Kansas City for a heartrending look at a young man's coming- of-age as he confronts his ...Show more In The King of Kings County, Terrell again takes us to his native Kansas City for a heartrending look at a young man's coming- of-age as he confronts his father's and his city's dissolution. In 1956, Alton Acheson--part conman, part visionary--begins building a suburban empire amid the cornfields of Kings County. As Alton bluffs his way into prosperity, his son, Jack, becomes a reluctant accomplice to his grand ambitions. But when greed, corruption, and organized crime combine to create an urban nightmare instead--abandoned buildings, ghettos, and slums--Jack is forced into a clear-eyed confrontation with his father's legacy. This extraordinary saga, The King of Kings County, examines the manufacturing of an American Dream, one whose contradictions divide us to this day. Show less

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