Racial Justice
New Johnson County Sculpture Memorializes ‘Trail of Death’
It’s common for Aaron Squadroni to interact with people interested in his art. But usually it’s completed work in a gallery, not an unfinished piece near a lake. Squadroni, along with Leah Yellowbird, created Fire Keepers Circle, a new public artwork commemorating the Potawatomi Trail of Death. The piece is in Heritage Park in Olathe….
KC Area Museums Reviewing Extensive Indigenous Holdings
Arrowheads, skinning knives, spearheads pulled from Kansas City fields, and prehistoric woven fibers teased from centuries-cold fire pits sit on the floor of a closed wing of the Wyandotte County Historical Museum. They are now under a year-long review to comply with strict federal guidelines designed to give Native American tribes greater control of the…
Abandoned Swope Park Lodge Eyed for Native American Center
The playground bullies had cornered a target, a little girl about 5 years old. Chris Cotten remembered running across the park, demanding an explanation. “Oh, we’re just picking on this Indian,” was the reply. That Indian, the one with skin darker than his own, was Cotten’s younger sister. “We’re adopted, and I’m part Indian too,”…
Kansas City Bears Racial Scars of Interstate System
Political power, civic influence, and blatant racism shaped the construction of the federal highway system crisscrossing the U.S. today. Kansas City was an extraordinarily adept player in the post-WW II effort. As a result, interstates slice and encircle the metropolitan area, U.S. 71 Highway runs along the east side of town, and many other connecting…
Cultivating History Pt. 3: Business Success Breeds Resentment
Junius Groves had built a potato empire by 1907, when educator Booker T. Washington showcased his success in his book, “The Negro in Business.” Groves then was shipping potatoes across North America while also importing what Washington called “fancy seed potatoes” from distant states. “He would get seed potatoes from Idaho and other places, and…
Cultivating History Pt. 2: ‘Potato King’ Thrives Amid Racism
While Kansas would prove friendly to potato growers like Junius Groves, it would not be quite the “free state” envisioned by Exodusters, the African Americans who, following the end of Reconstruction, considered their prospects more promising in the North. “It was about the same time when the Exodusters arrived in Kansas that the state Legislature…
Cultivating History Pt. 1: ‘Potato King’ Earning New Renown
Junius G. Groves is having a moment. Community knowledge of the African American potato farmer, who died 100 years ago this August, is growing after largely having vanished from the collective memory of Kansas, where he arrived carrying 90 cents in 1879. A new documentary, “The Potato King,” directed by filmmaker Jacob Handy, premiers Thursday…
Minority Chambers of Commerce Join Forces on Ward Parkway
Two chambers of commerce, assisted by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, have joined forces to create the Minority Chamber Development Center at 9100 Ward Parkway.
Border Issue Looms Over Cambio Center Conference in KC
The Cambio de Colores Conference convenes in Kansas City this week in the wake of President Joe Biden’s new executive order capping asylum seekers.
For Negro Leagues Museum President, Stat Recognition is Bigger Than Baseball
The addition of Negro Leagues baseball players’ statistics to MLB’s record books is bigger than baseball. It’s a part of American history.