Discrimination

Showing 28 results

Interview with community leader Rosemary Smith Lowe. Lowe discusses her family and early life in Arkansas, attending Wendell Phillips School after moving to Kansas City, her early involvement with Freedom Inc. and their work to pass public accommodations desegregation laws, her work as a cosmetologist and service as the commissioner of the state cosmetology board, serving as president of the Santa Fe Neighborhood Association and commissioner of the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, and her work as a founder of the Local Investment Commission and Neighborhood Alliance. She also discusses buying a home in a predominantly white area, her thoughts about her church, and memories of family and friends. Lowe's son James E. White, Sr. was present at the interview and shares memories of his mother's life and accomplishments.

Audio Recording

Interview with Kansas City, Kansas resident Luther Smith about growing up in the Quindaro area and in Welborn, Kansas. Smith discusses his family and experience as a young student and athlete in the 1940s and '50s, the changing retail landscape of Minnesota Avenue, being drafted into the army in 1960, encountering segregation and discrimination, and shares information about the earlier history of Quindaro.

Interview with Dr. Billy James Taylor. Taylor discusses his family and early life in Chattanooga, Tennessee, enlisting in the Army Special Forces, attending Tennessee State University and the University of Minnesota, returning to Tennessee to enroll in Meharry Medical College, working as a restaurant inspector, and coming to Kansas City in 1972. He also discusses seeing Black and white patients, race-based assumptions in medical care, varying economic conditions and neighborhoods in Kansas City and throughout the country,

Audio Recording

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 Lounneer Pemberton, executive director of the Kansas City Urban League. Pemberton discusses his family and early life in Iowa, attending predominantly white schools, attending the University of Minnesota, coming to Kansas City to work for the National Urban League, and actively considering race for the first time as an adult. He also shares memories of the Depression, seeing notable musicians, and thoughts about local activists and politicians, labor unions, local government, Freedom Inc., the passage of the public accommodations laws, and the upcoming national elections.

Video Recording

Interview with Kansas City educator and community leader Carl Boyd. Boyd discusses his early life in Chicago, segregation and discrimination against Black communities in Chicago and Kansas City, his work as an educator in Kansas City Public Schools during the desegregation era, and his work as a radio broadcaster on station KPRS.

Video Recording

Interview with Muriel Boyd about her life in Kansas City, her family history, being shielded from the knowledge of segregation by her parents, and her Cherokee ancestor Elizabeth Mantooth Starks. She also discusses her memories of the 18th and Vine area, her memories of the protests following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., her history with the Paseo Baptist Church, and memories of Black political leaders including Bruce R. Watkins.

Interview with Eugene Salvay about his life and his family's experience with the Kansas City garment industry, with additional information provided by his nephew, Craig Solvay. He discusses his childhood in the 1920s, and his education in aircraft engineering which lead to job in World War II working on B-25s at the assembly plant in the Fairfax District in spite of antisemitism in the hiring process. He recalls his father's work as designer at Fashionbilt before moving on to mail-order company National Bellas Hess, and operating his own business designing custom coats. He also shares stories about his family roots in Lithuania, his Jewish identity and ancestry, and meeting Harry Truman in the 1930s. Solvay also mentions his participation in developing Israeli aviation and his relationship with Moshe Arens.

Interview with Linda Lighton about the history of the Woolf Brothers clothing stores, which he father worked at and later owned. She discusses the company's origins in the late 1800s, selling men's clothing and haberdashery at 1020 Walnut, and its expansion over the decades to locations at the Plaza, area malls, and regional cities, as well as expanding to sell women's clothing. She also discusses the life of Herbert Woolf, the Kansas City Jewish community, and says that she heard Herbert Woolf "discovered" actress Jean Harlow. She connects the decline of the business to the 1977 flood that damaged the Plaza store and her father Alfred being shot in a mugging, as well as the ascendance of clothing and department store chains in the 1980s.

Video Recording

Interview with former Missouri state representative Paul Rojas about his experience with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City. He recalls the need of Hispanic businesses to be able to access bank loans, insurance, and opportunities for state contracts, and that the local chamber led to the formation of a United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce a few years later. He discusses the chamber's role in increasing Hispanic visibility in local governance, their growing political astuteness and advocacy, and linking the business community and social services.