Black History

At 84 years old, Willa Robinson is retiring and closing Willa’s Books and Vinyl, the store where she’s spent years selling works by Black artists. She’s placing the beloved space in the hands of The Kansas City Defender, which will preserve her vast archive.

Mayor Quinton Lucas convened a Commission on Reparations back in May 2023, with the goal of producing recommendations on how the city could repair harms from racism. Two years later, much of that work has yet to begin.

The designation from the National Park Service opens up the Quindaro Townsite to new opportunities for federal funding and assistance. The ruins, now deteriorating, were once a haven for Black people escaping slavery and for Free State abolitionists.

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.

Sometimes the little places you pass every day hold much more significance than you realize. That's the case for a Stafford County, Kansas cemetery that holds the graves of some of Kansas' early Black residents.

Malek Azrael's new EP "Feels Like..." channels the angsty, pop-punk sound of the 2000s. He's out to reclaim rock music for Black musicians in Kansas City.

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.

Black homeownership is a path to generational wealth, but many Black families in Kansas City have been prevented from buying homes due to decades-old racist lending practices. Habitat for Humanity Kansas City is helping more Black families buy homes.

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.

Kansas City’s Nora Holt was an accomplished pianist, composer, singer, music critic, and even a club-hopping socialite. She composed more than 200 musical works in her lifetime, but you've probably never heard any of them — because they were stolen.

A 117-year-old historically-Black church in Missouri is getting much-needed restoration work thanks to a grant from the National Heritage fund — and a crew of about a dozen volunteer builders.