Article recalls some of the efforts made by African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s to integrate restaurants, theaters, work places and amusement parks like Fairyland Park. Most were young adults or teenagers and members of the local NAACP branch. "While protests over equal employment opportunities for Kansas City African-Americans date to World War II, the era of the boycotts, sit-ins and other demonstrations that were the signature of the modern civil rights era likely began in Kansas City in December 1958. That was when an organized boycott of several downtown department stores forced desegregation of the stores' eating facilities the next spring." These protest were organized by the Community Committee for Social Action. Martin Luther King spoke at Kansas City's St. Stephen Baptist Church in April 1957 and it is thought African American leaders here were influenced by his actions. Some of those who participated and are pictured with the article include: Helen Moore McClellan, John W. Shields, Jr., Edith Haney-Galvin, Perry Frazier, and Patricia Pettiford-Roland.
Reproduction (printing, downloading, or copying) of images from Kansas City Public Library requires permission and payment for the following uses, whether digital or print: publication; reproduction of multiple copies; personal, non-educational purposes; and advertising or commercial purposes. Please order prints or digital files and pay use fees through this website. All images must be properly credited to: "Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri." Images and texts may be reproduced without prior permission only for purposes of temporary, private study, scholarship, or research. Those using these images and texts assume all responsibility for questions of copyright and privacy that may arise.
