Civil rights

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 activist and veteran Arthur Bronson. Bronson recalls his family background, his early life and education, his memories of the Watts Riots and the deaths of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, the evolution of the civil rights movement, his experience in the Air Force, his involvement with the Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam, and his later engagement with Cuba politics.

Interview with community leader Bruce R. Watkins, Jr. Watkins discusses his early life and education, the history of the Watkins family including his father Bruce R. Watkins and grandfather T. B. Watkins, the founding of Freedom Inc., and his work to share the story of slavery, former slaves, and the Watkins family in Platte County, Missouri. He also shares thoughts on the importance of leaving a legacy and learning personal and family history

Interview with Elida Cardenas, an employment opportunity specialist with the Office of Civil Rights, Federal Aviation Administration. She was born in Sanderson, Texas, in 1937, and grew up there. Cardenas discusses her father's experiences at working at the Kerr Mercantile Company in Sanderson. Cardenas also reveals the racial segregation between Mexicans and white Americans in the Sanderson Community while she attended elementary school. Cardenas received recognition for her involvement with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country. In 1974, Cardenas moved to Kansas City and continued to be involved in Hispanic communities there.

Interview with Congressman and former Kansas City mayor Emanuel Cleaver II. Cleaver discusses the importance of sports in maintaining social ties, the individuals who are a part of the Monday Nite Footballers group, a number of whom were members of his congregation, and the lifetime membership the group received from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the NAACP. He also discusses the role of women in the civil rights movement, traveling to Africa with President Barack Obama, Tell's work with the family of Emmett Till, and both men's relationships with Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr.

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 state representative Henry C. Ross. Ross discusses his family and early life, attending Lincoln High School, his early jobs and involvement in politics, being elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1964, the work of lawmaking and politics, and his plans to run for state senate office. He also shares thoughts about Freedom Inc., prominent Black Kansas Citians and other politicians, local political factions, the upcoming Republican National Convention, and the role of the police in the protests following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Interview with Judge Howard Sachs about his life, work, and experience as part of the Kansas City Jewish community. He discusses his legal education and evolution on racial issues, He calls cases dealing with the desegregation of the Swope Park and Parade Park pools, the integration of the Kansas City Bar Association, his experience with the Urban League, and working to enact desegregation laws in Kansas City prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. He also discusses the support for civil rights issues from area rabbis, his work on the Kansas City School District desegregation committee, and his support for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Part 3 of an interview with former Kansas City mayor Ilus W. Davis. He discusses his election to city council, his campaign for mayor, the development of Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Hospital, his thoughts on racial issues and the civil rights movement, the city's public accommodation ordinance, and Black political engagement. He also discusses the protests that happened in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, his disinterest in future political office, and remarks on the importance of access to education and jobs for the Black community.

Parts 1 and 2 of an interview with former Kansas City mayor Ilus W. Davis. Davis discusses many aspects of his life and career, including his upbringing and education, memories of the Great Depression, his career as a lawyer, his time as an army officer during World War II on bases through the United States and in the Pacific on General MacArthur's staff, and his views of the Pendergast machine and Harry Truman. He also discusses segregation in Kansas City and the efforts to desegregate venues including the Music Hall and Municipal Auditorium and his election to the Kansas City city council.