School integration

Interview with Kansas City Public School District board member Dr. A. Odell Thurman. Thurman discusses his family and early life in Mississippi and St. Louis, his father's work as a minister, attending (and later teaching at) Dunbar School, attending high school in Liberty and St. Joseph, attending Western University and later graduating from Lincoln University, getting a masters degree, and working as an educator in Kansas City, Missouri. He shares his thoughts about segregated schools in Kansas City, earning his PhD, and becoming an assistant superintendent for the school district.

Interview with Adolph Wilson, owner of the Fireplace Lounge and Northwest Junior High assistant principal. Wilson discusses his family and early life in Oklahoma, attending segregated schools in Kansas City, Kansas, working as a teacher and administrator in Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, and how he got involved in the nightclub business. He also discusses the business of running a nightclub in Kansas, including taxation and zoning, his plans for the future, and also discusses school integration efforts.

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.

Interview with Gladstone Elementary School principal Charles Dwight. Dwight recalls his childhood and early education in Kansas City, Kansas, his work teaching in Kansas City, Missouri at the elementary and high school levels and in special education, his work with the Northeast Optimist Club and Kansas City, Kansas's Neighborhood Youth Corps, and his work as a funeral director. He also shares his memories of the community reaction to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his experiences of racism and segregation and thoughts about busing and school integration.

Interview with Chuck Moore. Moore discusses his family and early life in Topeka, moving to Kansas City and beginning his radio career at KPRS, the history and operations of the Black-owned station, his move to KCMO and WHB radio stations, the programming he hosted, segregation in broadcasting, and more thoughts about the business of radio. He also discusses his memories of Jackie Robinson playing in Major League Baseball, his work with the United Minority Media Association, and his thoughts about the role of the media in the civil rights movement.

Interview with educator Daisy Hoskins Young about growing up near Waldron, Missouri, and later in Parkville, Missouri. She recalls daily life in Parkville, her family's history dating back to enslavement, and her family's experience with Parkville's Banneker School and Park College. She also discusses her high school education in Kansas City, obtaining bachelors and masters degrees, and her memories of the 18th and Vine neighborhood. Young also describes her work with the Platte County Historical Society and Banneker School Foundation, and the area's Black history.

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 civil rights activist and Kansas City Public Schools board member Fletcher Daniels. Daniels discusses his family and early life and education in Muskogee, Oklahoma, being drafted into the army, and moving to Kansas City to work as a postal clerk. He also discusses Kansas City's Black community, his memories of Ruth Kerford and the Community Committee for Social Action, staging demonstrations for integration of downtown department stores, his memories of the protests after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his experience in leadership of the local NAACP, and his work with and as part of the KCPS board, including his thoughts on school integration.

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.

Interview with Kansas City Public Schools psychologist Isaac Gardner, Jr. Gardner discusses his early life and education in the Wendell Phillips neighborhood, his different experiences attending the University of Michigan and Howard University, joining the Air Force as a research psychologist, and a racist encounter with the Kansas City Police Department and subsequent public attention and interaction with police chief Clarence Kelley. He also discusses his memories of social and commercial segregation in Kansas City, teaching at Lincoln High School and Avila College, his work providing assessments and therapy to students, and his involvement with the district's desegregation task force.