Interview with Mo-Kan Minority Contractors Association founder Alexander Harris. Harris discusses his early life in West Virginia, leaving the state for Kansas City because his father didn't want his sons working in the coal mines, touring as a musician as a young man, serving as a soldier in the Korean War, entering the building trade with his father after leaving the service, and founding Mo-Kan, an advocacy organization for Black contractors, in the late 1960s.
Interview with civic leader Alvin Brooks. Brooks discusses his family's move from Little Rock, Arkansas to Kansas City during the Depression, growing up in the Dunbar/Leeds area, his experience working for the Kansas City Police Department during the 1950s and 1960s under Police Chief Clarence Kelley, protesting segregation and displacement for urban renewal projects, city and Kansas City Public Schools leadership, and his hope to remain involved in city goverment or to work at a small Black college or university.
Interview with jazz guitarist Carroll Jenkins. Jenkins discusses his family and early life, his experience as a student and athlete at R. T. Coles School and later Coe College in Iowa, and becoming a musician in his 20s. He also discusses Charlie Parker, Jay McShann, and other jazz musicians at length, sharing his thoughts about their style and influence as well as other thoughts on the history of local jazz, and discusses the work and aspirations of hte Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation.
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 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.
