© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KCUR 89.3 is intermittently running on low power to allow tower repairs. Click here to stream us online 24/7

Public Hears Possibilities for Black Archives Future

The Black Archives' current location in a former fire station on 20th and Vine.
Nicholas Segura
The Black Archives' current location in a former fire station on 20th and Vine.

By Sylvia Maria Gross

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-656013.mp3

Kansas City, MO – On Thursday, Attorney General Jay Nixon hosted a second public hearing on the future of the Black Archives of Mid-America. The institution is home to tens of thousands of artifacts and documents related to African American history in Kansas City, and around the country. But it has only filed one annual report in the last five years, and the board of directors had dwindled to one member. Since Nixon's first public hearing three weeks ago, several ideas for management of the archives have been floated, including the possibility of sharing a space with a branch of Kansas City's public library. But there are some who feel that control of the archives should remain in the black community. Sylvia Maria Gross attended Thursday's hearing and has this report.

Congress just eliminated federal funding for KCUR, but public radio is for the people.

Your support has always made KCUR's work possible — from reporting that keeps officials accountable, to storytelling to connects our community. Help ensure the future of local journalism.