© 2026 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

A school boycott in Johnson County set the stage for Brown v. Board

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 70 years ago that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. But the case may have played out differently if it hadn’t been for a tenacious group of women in Johnson County, Kansas, who led their own integration lawsuit five years earlier.

From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin reports.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
David McKeel is a producer for KCUR Studios. Email him at David.McKeel@kcur.org
KCUR is here for Kansas City, because Kansas City is here for KCUR.

Your support makes KCUR's work possible — from reporting that keeps officials accountable, to storytelling that connects our community. You can make sure the future of local journalism is strong.