A Kansas City Treasure

Last week, a writer friend invited me on a Kansas City field trip to the Black Archives of Mid-America near the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame and the Jazz Hall of Fame at 18th and Vine. What a gift! The mission of the Black Archives is “to collect, preserve and make available to the public materials documenting the social, economic, political and cultural histories of persons of African American descent in the central United States, with particular emphasis in the Kansas City, Missouri region.” Whew! That’s a mouthful. In addition, Black Archives is an educational resource and provides public access to its collections. Examples include the dance troupe, Alvin Ailey’s papers and memorabilia, information about the Buffalo Soldiers, and history of the Tuskegee Airmen. I drool when I think of the enhancements I can find for working with Gordon Parks’ story and future biographies of black people that I have in mind. Dr. Carmaletta Williams became the executive director more than one year ago when the Archives had been without designated leadership for some time. Photographs, papers, sculptures, etc. were in shambles throughout the huge building at 1722 East 17th Terrace. “I have a staff of exceptional archivists who have spent full time identifying, cataloging, and preserving items we found strewn about when I came on. They have done a stellar job, and yet we have years to go before all is searchable and ready for display. It is truly a treasure.” I was starry-eyed, absorbing new information about an historical segment of Kansas City’s history, such as the integration of fire departments and police departments as late as the 1960s. I will find my way back to the museum soon, and I recommend putting Black Archives on your tourist visit to the Kansas City area.