Black History

Award-winning author and scholar Imani Perry discusses her new book, Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People. Her dozens of short essays examine the close historical, musical, and artistic connections between being Black and the color blue — “the mystery of blue,” she writes, “and its alchemy in the li...

Former ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) David Killion talks to UMKC’s Jacob Wagner about the organization’s importance to the security of the U.S., the value of the Creative Cities Network, and the International Day of Jazz. K...

Daniel Smith, chairman of the Monnett Battle of Westport Fund, tells the story of the Black soldiers who fought in the Battle of Westport during the Civil War. Their still-underrecognized agency, courage, and leadership — rooted in our own landscape and civic memory — was crucial to the Union’s victory.

Songs like “Summertime” have helped audiences connect with Porgy and Bess for over 90 years. But the opera has also sparked debate. Join us for a conversation about who creates art, how people are represented, and the impact it leaves behind, along with a live performance. Presented by Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Entrepreneur, social activist, and political leader Bruce R. Watkins left an indelible mark on Kansas City, advancing civil rights and fighting against discrimination. Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center and State Museum executive director Emiel Cleaver discusses his legacy.

More than 20 million motorists a year travel Bruce R. Watkins Drive. But this vital corridor, completed in 2001, came at a high cost to East Side residents who endured a half-century of planning, neighborhood demolition, and freeway construction. Kansas City native Kevin Fox Gotham discusses the major conflicts and str...

Computer code bootcamps provide students with accelerated training in computer programming and job skills with the dual end goals of upward social mobility and increased community contribution. University of Missouri-Kansas City assistant professor Antonio Byrd discusses the ins and outs of...

Historian Donna Rae Pearson examines the lingering impacts of redlining and urban renewal and how each promoted residential segregation in communities across the nation.

In Fighting for a Free Missouri: German Immigrants, African Americans, and the Issue of Slavery, editor and historian Sydney Norton presents a series of essays detailing what unfolded when idealistic Germans, many of whom were highly educated and devoted to the ideals of freedom and democracy, left their homeland and s...