Race and Culture

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.

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 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.

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.

As the U.S. celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day and marks Trump's second inauguration, Kansas City activists worry the new president will follow through on campaign promises like mass deportations and clamping down on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. But they are also hopeful that people in their networks can band together and fight back.

The Palestinian American Medical Association, founded in Kansas City in 2013, works to ensure Palestinians have access to the health care they need. Since the current war began last year, their work has become even more critical.

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.

Racist and nativist rhetoric has made headlines in the 2024 election, and immigrants and refugees around Kansas City have taken notice. Plus: One of Missouri's few openly gay Republican lawmakers says his vote on transgender rights cost him his party's support — and reelection.

As nativist rhetoric hits a fever pitch ahead of the 2024 election, immigrants and refugees in Kansas City question their safety, and their future, in the U.S.

Kansas City has long been associated with barbeque, fountains and jazz music — but accordions? Meet the 90-year-old woman who is keeping the city's rich legacy alive. Plus: Kansas City journalist Ebony Reed takes an "immersive" dive into the nation's racial wealth gap in her new book.

After 18 months of renovations, the historic Westport home will serve again as a center for stories from the old western frontier. 'We need to tell the story of enslavement and the Native American tribes that were affected by the settlement,' one historian says.

The longtime activist and community leader spent his life fighting to improve the lives of Mexican American residents in the Westside neighborhood, and was a force of nature who “transformed the community at the sociopolitical, cultural and educational levels.”