Local Events

The Black Card Experience at the The Bird Comedy Theater in the Crossroads Art District

When: Saturday, Feb. 24 from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Price: $12-$15

Regarding this event, The Bird Comedy Theater said, “Fresh from performing live at SF SketchFest, Katherene Garry, (Let Me Explain My Blackness, It’s A Cultural Thing, The Anarchy Fun Time Show) brings back KC Fringe 2023’s Best of Venue show about the stereotypes of black culture for one night.” 

BLK + BRWN MOVIE NIGHT! @ Stray Cat Film Center on Broadway Blvd.

When: Sunday, Feb. 25 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Price: $ Free

The Stray Cat Film Center, partnering with BLK + BRWN, is screening “The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” in honor of Black History Month.

Jewell Kitchen in YGCU Room 221/222

When: Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Price: $10 

Here is a description obtained from the BSA Brightspace Page: “Bring your appetite to enjoy some soul food! This event will feature a raffle for a campus parking space and trivia where you can win prizes like a Nintendo Switch or a massage gun! Sponsored by BSA.”

Reading and Local Businesses:

For a quick read, hop on over to the Kansas City Black History website and download this year’s pamphlet. This booklet highlights Black historical figures, including a musician, a teacher, a physician, a politician and many more. Some of the famous names include Samuel U. Rodgers, Vincent O. Carter, Myrtle Foster Cook and Annetta Washington. For a longer read, check out Goodreads’s Black History Month List that recommends books such as “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.

KC Black Owned created several lists that include Black-owned small businesses such as restaurants, cafes, bakeries, retail stores and much more. There are even some bookstores included, so check out the Goodreads list and pick up your next read at one of these Black-owned bookstores! Black History Month is an important celebration and commemoration of Black history. If you feel inspired by this list, consider using your voice to elevate Black voices.

A great way to celebrate Black History Month is to shop local and support Black business owners. Historically, Black business owners have faced systemic oppression and obstacles. They deserve our support every day and play a vital role in the local community. There are lots of great restaurants and small businesses in the Liberty and Kansas City area that offer a variety of products to locals. By shopping at Black-owned businesses this month, you might just find your new favorite stores.

Ruby Jean’s Juicery

Ruby Jean’s Juicery was created with a passion for health and longevity. They serve healthy beverages and snacks in a relaxing and inclusive environment. On the menu, they have handcrafted juice, smoothies, performance shakes and made-to-order lunch and breakfast items. You can visit the website here. 

Wingz & More Liberty

Wingz & More is located in the historic Liberty Square. They serve wings, burgers, fish and more. They have a variety of menu items and dessert items. You can visit the website here.

Soirée Steak & Oyster House 

Soirée serves Southern-inspired, handcrafted cuisine such as oysters, steaks and cocktails. It is located in the 18th & Vine District and features live jazz music on Sunday nights. You can find the website here.

Jones BBQ

Famously featured on the Netflix show Queer Eye, Jones BBQ serves delicious barbecued food from homemade sausages to entire racks of ribs. Jones BBQ has been featured in The Wallstreet Journal, Refinery29 and Woman’s Day. The founders, Deborah “Little” and Mary “Shorty” Jones, are important business figures in the Kansas City area. You can visit the website here.

Kaleidoscoops Ice Cream

Kaleidoscoops Ice Cream serves waffle bowls and homemade ice cream flavors in Kansas City. Their mission is to provide an enjoyable experience to the community through the different flavors of life. You can find the website here. 

The Blue Room

The Blue Room is a local jazz venue where you can enjoy music in the 18th & Vine District. It provides a platform for the best local and national jazz talent in an intimate environment. You can visit the website here.

Bliss Books & Wine KC

Bliss Books & Wine KC is a local bookstore for wine enthusiasts. Their mission is to provide an environment for enjoying wine, books, and conversation. Due to COVID-19 they are currently only based online but have a storefront coming soon in 2022. You can visit the website here.

Soul Rebels Jewelry

Lashon Mack is the local artist and jewelry designer behind the Soul Rebels Jewelry. They make various bead, stone, wire and leather jewelry for men and women with an Afrocentric vibe. The beautiful jewelry has been worn by many celebrities. You can visit the website here.

Calming Canvas

Calming Canvas specializes in private art parties and the owner, Nikita, is a self-taught visual artist from Kansas City. There are lots of party options for a girls night in, couples night, team building, and kids’ parties. You can visit the website here.

Harvest Moon Women’s Collective

Harvest Moon Women’s Collective is a holistic self-care shop that offers a wide selection of all-natural, non-toxic body products and services. Within the collective, there are over 10 different artisans and service providers. They sell handmade products including loose herbs, body oils and tinctures. You can visit the website here.

Alongside many other efforts to highlight the importance of equity and inclusion, students, staff and organizations at William Jewell College have come together to honor Black History Month despite the challenges that COVID-19 presented this year.

To account for the decreasing number of students on campus and the need for socially-distanced events, organizations have modified traditional events and piloted unique celebrations in the month of February.

One organization, the Black Student Alliance (BSA), is set to host their annual Jewell Kitchen event Thursday, Feb. 25, to celebrate local foods and Black culinary influences, according to BSA President Tavarus Pennington, junior communication and English major.

The event will take place on the floor above the cafeteria in rooms 221 and 222 of the Yates-Gill College Union. BSA will provide adequate space for all attendees to eat socially-distanced and the food will be served by the Fresh Ideas staff. Pennington explained that BSA wanted the event to remain “as true to tradition as safely possible,” and he hopes that it will look similar to the current Jewell cafeteria experience.

Students can purchase tickets for the event in the Union during Jewell time until Thursday or until all tickets are sold. 

Additionally, Student Life hosted a Black History Month Jeopardy night Feb. 8 in the Melrose lobby. However, with limitations on in-person gatherings, many celebrations were moved onto social media. 

On Instagram, the Gender Issues and Feminism club (GIF) celebrated Black womxn who had “contributed to the advancement of black people and worked hard to create spaces where black bodies are appreciated and free,” as they wrote in their #WomenCrushWednesday post Feb. 3. 

GIF honored Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement and activist against sexual violence, Feb. 3; Maya Wiley, founder and president of the Center for Social Inclusion and racial justice advocate, Feb. 10; Majora Carter, founder of the non-profit environmental justice group Sustainable South Bronx, Feb. 17; and Alicia Garza, special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter, Feb. 24.

Additionally, they held an event on Black feminism on Feb. 24. Lydia Enge, senior political science and communication major and GIF’s communications chair, led a presentation and discussion on Black feminism, which included definitions of Black feminism, a brief outline of its history and supplementary videos which further described the importance and origins of Black feminism.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed BSA’s ability to generate sustained interest in the organization itself, Pennington explained that Black history carries importance regardless.

“To me, celebrating Black history is a solemn act of self-reflection and humble appreciation and respect,” Pennington said. “The ethos of solitude that the pandemic presents us with seems to be perfect for any productive ‘celebration’ of Black history. With that said, obviously the pandemic has made it very difficult to plan engaging material activities to do with Black History Month. That’s not even to mention the bitter and downright dangerous cold this month has brought us.”

Vice President for Access and Engagement, Dr. Rodney Smith, reiterated this sentiment as well, emphasizing that Black history and Black History Month is more than just a celebration to many.

“It is important for Black people to know about themselves and about our ancestors, even in the face of a pandemic,” Smith said. “We still need to find ways to continue to celebrate because it’s important to people’s psychological mental health, to people’s beliefs about themselves [and] to people’s self esteem. It also contributes to this idea of self-efficacy, [which] means a belief in your ability.” 

In Smith’s first year at Jewell, several projects intended to supplement the college’s Radical Inclusivity efforts have surfaced and propelled forward with several significant developments, many of which are aimed at amplifying historically-accurate and diverse perspectives.

Recognizing that Jewell was founded as an all-male, whites-only college, these efforts, in addition to Black History Month, can assist students and staff in taking a moment to honor the history behind the institution from which they benefit.

This semester, Jewell implemented a new history course, HIS 204: Slavery, Memory, and Justice, which is taught by Associate Professor of History Dr. Christopher Wilkins to encourage informed conversation on Jewell’s history with slavery and highlight the importance of historical accuracy. Overall, the course is intended to investigate Jewell’s connection to the ubiquity of slavery in the area at the time of its inception.

After realizing that slavery likely played a role in Jewell’s founding, Dr. Smith explained the impact that this revelation had on him.

“And it just dawned on me,” Smith said. “ A few weeks ago as I was walking across campus, I looked over at Jewell Hall, and [I thought], if that is indeed true that enslaved Africans helped to build that building, could they ever imagine me? Could they ever imagine a descendent of enslaved Africans being a part of the leadership on their college campus? It’s a pretty humbling thought from my vantage point.”

To further diversify perspectives, students from various organizations and staff, including Pennington and Smith, launched the Critical Foundations Collection in Curry Library that focuses on amplifying the voices of people and authors from marginalized demographics. The collection features books about BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, feminism, religions alternative to Christianity and more. Sophomore digital communications major Claire Henry, senior physics and Oxbridge history of ideas major and engagement chair for GIF, Catherine Dema, and others were also involved in the initiative.

BSA was one of the leading organizations in developing the Critical Foundations Collection, and according to Pennington, the organization plays an important part in vitalizing Black history given the context and culture at Jewell.

“The importance of black history to BSA is supercharged particularly within a context where we attend a predominantly white institution that boasts a critical approach to liberal arts thinking alongside a predominantly white faculty and core curriculum,” Pennington said. “It seems the natural role of BSA is to contest this sort of culture.”

With such a heavily-Eurocentric curriculum for K-12 and most higher-education institutions in the United States, Smith echoes the importance of diversifying perspectives and highlighting Black history.

“In order to be considered an educated individual or to be thought of as being well-read, you have to read certain pieces,” Dr. Smith said, “and the pieces that we are saying we have to read, historically, have not been very diverse; they haven’t come from a diversity of perspectives. I’m beginning to believe and understand that you’re not [actually] well-read until you’re reading a diversity of perspectives. That fact alone heightens the importance of black history.”

Overall, Smith elaborates, these efforts to honor Black History Month as well as the achievements in permanently including historically-accurate and diverse perspectives can go a long way in inspiring new generations to pursue opportunities of their own.

“How do we gain beliefs in our ability? We gain [self-efficacy] through a couple of ways,” Dr. Smith said. “One of the ways is through vicarious influences: if you see somebody else who looks like you, who is doing this thing or who has done this thing, then it triggers something in you to say, ‘Well, maybe I could do that too.’ It’s important for us to continue to visit those vicarious opportunities so people can see themselves. History gives us an opportunity to expand those opportunities and expand those incidences where [we] can see reflections of ourselves.”

February is Black History Month in the United States – it is a time to recognize, celebrate and honor the contributions, culture and struggles of black people in our country. Kansas City, like so many places in the country, was deeply and profoundly shaped by its own black history. The city would be unrecognizable without it.

Kansas City’s jazz, baseball, culinary and general culture was shaped by and generated from black history.

Kansas City is an iconic jazz city and jazz is a historically black music that was spread to the wider, whiter culture to become the cultural touchstone it is today, in part by musical geniuses like Count Basie, Jay “Hootie” McShann, Joe Turner, Mary Lou Williams, Benny Moten, Hot “Lips” Page and many more – often from Kansas City. To explore more about the history of jazz and the contributions of black artists, you can go to the American Jazz Museum on 18th and Vine.

Black history is also inextricably tied to baseball history in the U.S. and in Kansas City specifically. The formation meeting for the Negro Leagues took place in Kansas City. The Kansas City Monarchs were one of the original Negro League teams – they won the first Negro League World Championship and won more championships than any other team in Kansas City history.

The Monarchs storied history included such players as Buck O’Neil, Satchel Paige – widely regarded as one of the best and most exciting pitchers to watch in either the Negro or Major Leagues – and Jackie Robinson – the first African American player to play in the major leagues and the only player in MLB history whose number is retired by every team.

To learn more about the Monarchs and the Negro Leagues, you can visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The museum describes the story of the Negro Leagues from formation to its eventual downfall after the integration of the MLB in addition to providing a timeline of black history in the U.S. starting in the mid-1800s.

This museum provides unique insight into how cultural awarenesses shaped sports and vice-versa and highlights incredible people involved in this microcosmic representation of the fight for equal rights for black people in America. This museum is well worth your time and the cost of admission – it is a chronicle of an American story that is also a Kansas City story and a human story through the medium of the national pastime.

Another Kansas City staple shaped by black history is barbeque. Kansas City barbeque is amazing, this is obvious. What is less obvious is that the reputation and culture of barbeque developed significantly in the 18th and Vine district – a historical and current hotspot of black culture. Without black history in Kansas City, Kansas City barbeque wouldn’t be what it is. The city would lack staples like Arthur Bryant’s, Gates Bar-B-Q and more.

These ways that Kansas Citians define the city and its culture were impacted and developed by black history. One cannot consider Kansas City and its history without recognizing and celebrating its black history and culture. What I’ve been able to briefly describe here is only scratching at the surface of all that black history has done for Kansas City, let alone the country as a whole.

Yet one can not only celebrate black history by admiring accomplishments and contributions of black people to the city. You must also look at the ways black people were systematically taken advantage of in the past and how such discrimination threatens the city today.

The most iconic, but certainly not the only, representation of the impacts of this history is the Troost divide – which the Monitor has previously covered in various ways. Troost Ave. is a boundary for stark racial, socioeconomic, educational and healthcare divisions.

A 2017 study by TIME magazine ranked Kansas City as the fifth most economically segregated city in the nation, with the most obvious evidence of this segregation being along Troost. Other representations of Kansas City divisions are apparent in rapid gentrification in areas like the Crossroads.

Such entrenched issues and systematic cases of racism deserve significantly more time and information than this article can provide. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and others – including the Kansas City housing crisis, healthcare access discrepancies and discrepancies in educational access, all of which disproportionately impact black citizens.

Black History Month is a time to reflect on black history and reckon with how black history can be squared with the black and the white present. This includes looking at the impact of slavery, discrimination, the civil rights movement and the general systematic disadvantages that black people have faced and still face. This history needs to be recognized in addition to celebrating the benefits modern society has acquired from black history.

Jazz and Troost. Monarchs/baseball and the discrimination that forced the formation of the Negro Leagues. Barbeque and gentrification. All of it needs to be recognized. Especially during Black History Month.

Photos courtesy of Cassie Hayes.