Holmes, Daniel A.

Interview with Adolf Ridgway. Ridgway, born in 1890, discusses his family and early life in Arkansas, dropping out of school at the age of 6 to help his mother, picking cotton, coming to Kansas City in his late 1920s to work on the Santa Fe Railroad, and his memories of the two world wars and the Great Depression. He also shares his thoughts about past American presidents, the boxer Jack Johnson, leisure time activities, and working at other jobs, including North American Aviation.

Interview with Dr. Eugene E. Fields. Dr. Fields discusses his family background and early life in the St. Louis area, his memories of segregation in his childhood and the Great Depression, graduating from Lincoln University, his work for the National Youth Administration North American Aviation during World War II, his experience with prominent leaders and Black intellectuals in St. Louis and Kansas City, meeting his wife, and becoming a teacher and administrator at numerous Kansas City Public School District schools. He also discusses attending graduate school, including receiving a PhD from the University of Kansas, his experience of school integration, the burgeoning Black political and activist environment in Kansas City, and protests that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his ordination as a minister, and his thoughts about the future of Kansas City schools.

Interview with businessman and former city councilman G. Lawrence Blankinship. Blankinship discusses his childhood in Louisiana, his family's work in the logging industry, moving to Kansas City as a teenager, his work in management at Crown Drug stores, and later starting his Blankinship Distributing, a supplier of Black beauty products. He also discusses his local community and political work, including serving on Kansas City's city council, his involvement with Freedom, Inc., and his relationships with other local leaders.

Four-part interview with attorney, activist, and former Missouri state representative Harold Holliday, Sr. In Part 1, Holliday discusses his family and early life living between Oklahoma and Kansas City, growing up in the then-rural Leeds area, his high school and college experiences, the Lloyd Gaines lawsuit, being drafted at the start of World War II, and his experience as a Black soldier stationed in Mississippi. In Part 2, he discusses his work history, including stints with the Works Progress Administration and Veterans Administration, finishing Officers Candidate School, being stationed in England and Fort Knox, Kentucky, among other locations, and includes some explicit discussion of relationships with women during the war years. He also shares thoughts on the Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pearl Harbor, Missouri Congressional representative Richard Bolling, the Pendergast era, efforts to make lynching a federal offense, and numerous contemporary politicians. In Part 3, he discusses the Nixon administration and Watergate, whether America is susceptible to dictatorship, his thoughts on nationally and locally prominent Black intellectuals and entertainers including Paul Robeson, Lucile Bluford, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and D. A. Holmes, the difficulties and advancement of Black people, including his family members in academics and public life, considers the legal profession and his work in bringing the Kansas City public accommodations ordinance to the Supreme Court, and choosing to leave elected office. In Part 4, he considers what changes he might make to his life if he could live it over again and whether he believes himself to be a good man, his hopes for the future, more thoughts on the Pendergast era, as well as memories of Harry Truman and other local politicians. He also shares thoughts on civil rights efforts and the US Constitution.

Interview with James Anderson, owner of Kansas City's Smallest Free Museum and E & J's Everything Store. Anderson discusses his childhood, his experiences living throughout the Kansas City region and across the country, operating Anderson's Chicken Shack in Edwardsville and later his antique store and storefront museum of Black history, as well as his memories and views of Kansas City history and assorted notable individuals.

Interview with Paseo Baptist Church pastor Charles J. Briscoe. Briscoe discusses his childhood, his experience at R. T. Coles Vocational High School, his theological education and early experiences as a pastor, and returning to Kansas City and eventually the Paseo Baptist Church. He also discusses his views on race relations and the Black community in Kansas City, the role of the church in community building and politics, the history of Paseo Baptist, its mission work, and his views of other religions.

Interview with executive director of the Department of Urban Affairs Samuella Gates. Gates discusses her family background in Texas, coming to Kansas City to work as a teacher at the age of 24, working for the local Girl Scouts council and various government jobs, and marrying and moving to Atlanta where she worked in education and job training for adults. She also recalls her memories of the World War II years, including teaching and raising a family in Texas, California, and Arizona, and working with the Model Cities program after returning to Kansas City in the late 1960s. She also discusses her experiences in Kansas City churches, shares her views about past US presidents, prominent Black intellectuals and activists, and local politicians, her thoughts on the women's liberation movement, and her career aspirations and concerns.