Kansas City’s first Pride parade in 1977 was spearheaded by Lea Hopkins, whose organizing sparked a wider gay rights movement that continues today. But it was only a few weeks after that successful event that Hopkins found herself on the defense again, when a prominent anti-gay activist came on a crusade through town.

Gov. Laura Kelly shot down a proviso in the state budget bill allocating $250,000 for the Quindaro Ruins Archaeological Park in Kansas City, historically an important stop on the Underground Railroad. One of the site’s top supporters, Kansas City Democrat Rep. Marvin Robinson, broke party lines to help Republicans override Kelly's veto of a transgender athlete ban.

An independent group at William Jewell revealed the college founders’ deep ties to slavery, including the fact that enslaved people helped build Jewell Hall and that the college's namesake Dr. William Jewell did not free all the people he enslaved, contrary to previous accounts.

With a small-but-mighty restaurant culture, its own newspaper, and a vision for the future, the neighborhood of Martin City is a cultural hub in South Kansas City.

A 1975 protest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Kansas City emerged from years of escalating tension — between Black community members and their city, and between McDonald’s and the neighborhoods it inhabited. But this particular location was also one of the first Black-owned fast-food franchises in the country, an accomplishment born from its own struggle for inclusion.

Ed and Brad Budde both played offensive line for the Chiefs, and were both first round draft picks — a singular achievement in the NFL.

Kansas City is known as the "City of Fountains," and it's earned the name — with more than any city other than Rome. From opulent displays to more simple spouts, these water features beautify our environment and connect us to the Kansas City of the past.

Abraham Josephine Riesman’s best-selling book, “Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America,” recounts how the WWE went through an aggressive expansion in the 1980s, including in St. Louis.

Pfc. Willy F. James Jr. was among seven African American troops unjustly denied the country’s highest military award for valor during World War II. Veterans and service members at James' memorial shared their thoughts on his legacy.

Conservative legislators nationwide, including in Kansas, have introduced bills to restrict or criminalize certain drag performances. But drag queens haven’t stopped performing.

Since Kansas City was established, drag in various forms has evolved from entertainment for power and control into a liberating art. Attempts to regulate the practice have also persisted.

St. Louis County restored the only known remaining African American school in the county. During the 1900s, African Schoolhouse No. 4 held about 20 Black children each school year before it closed in 1950.