African Americans

Some artists shy away from using AI. Kansas City photographer and digital artist David Morris embraces it. Hear how a local creative harnesses AI to bring his vision to life, and where you can see it. Plus: A Kansas City bookselling icon is retiring after years of tracking down Black books and vinyl. Now, a new generation is stepping up to preserve her legacy.

Derrick Barnes felt there wasn't wide enough representation of Black people in the books he read as a kid. The Kansas City native's new picture book, “I Got You,” is his latest effort to write characters who can "just be human," he says.

Crews of volunteers are digging into the ruins of a 168-year-old mansion in Lecompton, Kansas, that belonged to a territorial governor. The work is done through the Kansas Historical Society's annual archaeological field school. Plus: Children’s author Derrick Barnes from Kansas City is known for books that are all about making Black kids feel seen.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas convened a reparations commission in May 2023 with the goal of recommending how the city could repair harms from racism. Two years later, much of that work has yet to begin.

Bruce R. Watkins Drive took three decades to build, and resulted in the destruction of 2,000 homes and the displacement of thousands of Black residents. Kansas City officials and longtime residents hope a new federal grant can reconnect the neighborhoods torn apart by Highway 71, but mending old wounds won’t be easy.

The Kansas City Police Department created an independent missing persons unit in 2023. Two years later, the department reports progress in its effort to solve missing persons cases. But many in the Black community say the numbers mask impatience and frustration over a lack of attention to cases that drag on for decades.

The leader of Kansas City Parks & Recreation wants to transform Hope Lodge in Swope Park into a regional gathering place for indigenous people. Before integration, the site hosted a residential camping program for Black children.

A retired Kansas City fire captain is on a yearslong mission to honor every firefighter in the department's 157-year history who has died in the line of duty. Plus: A Kansas cemetery holds the stories of Black "Exodusters" who moved north after the Civil War.

Homeownership is a path to generational wealth, but many Black families have struggled to own their own homes. Habitat for Humanity Kansas City found a way to help. Plus: In Missouri and across the country, plant libraries that could help fight climate change are in danger of funding cuts.

Spanning venerable favorites and creative newcomers, wings and vegan fare, Caribbean and crab, you'll want to explore these Black-owned restaurants, cafes and more around Kansas City, as picked by local diners.

Karen E. Griffin's upcoming exhibition, "Because of Black History Month," opens this Sunday, Feb.16, at Englewood Arts in Independence. The show includes abstract pieces and art quilts that portray her ancestors' odyssey from Africa to America.

The exhibit includes 135 handmade antique dolls — some that were made by enslaved people — and about 60 period photographs showing dolls, children and adults posing for the camera. But not everyone involved in the Kansas City showing is completely comfortable with it.