Since August of 2020, a group of dedicated student researchers, under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Wilkins, associate professor and chair of the department of history at William Jewell College, has been researching the history of slavery in relationship to Jewell. The research group that the students and Wilkins created, the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project (SJMP), had its origins in an introductory history seminar last fall. This semester, Project members mainly convene during the HIS 204: Slavery, Memory, and Justice course that Wilkins teaches. They plan to conduct research for as long as it takes to bring the truth about the College’s relationship with slavery to light. This will ultimately conclude with the group publishing their research – writing a more accurate account of Jewell’s history in the hopes of creating a more inclusive college community. 

As the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project compiles and verifies their research, The Hilltop Monitor will publish their findings. This is the final installment in a series of investigations into the history of slavery at William Jewell College. 

Over the past month, The Hilltop Monitor has detailed the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project’s investigation into the founders and early trustees’ ties to slavery more broadly, and introduced their research on Dr. Jewell and Alexander Doniphan. In this final installment of the investigation, the Monitor reviews the society these figures were embedded in and where the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project endeavors to go next. 

Alexander Doniphan, James T.V. Thompson and other founders and trustees from Clay County were rooted in the society of early Liberty and Clay County. To gain a more comprehensive picture of Jewell’s founding, the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project continues to investigate Liberty and Clay County’s historical ties to slavery.

Over the course of this research, the SMJP began assembling evidence that reveals the terrible irony in the name of Liberty. Despite a name proclaiming freedom, both Liberty and Clay County broadly supported slavery and economically depended upon it. 

Founded in the 1820s, most of Clay County’s early white settlers originated from the slave states of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. When they traveled westward, they brought the enslaved people they owned with them. According to census records, 10,337 people lived in Clay County by 1850. Roughly 27% of this total population, or 2,742 people, was enslaved. 

Although Missouri was a slave state, Clay County was far above the norm for Missouri in its embrace of slavery. Overall 13% of Missouri’s population was enslaved in 1850 – or 87,442 enslaved people out of a total population of 682,044. Clay County more than doubled the percentage of the enslaved compared to that of the state as a whole. 

Out of 100 total Missouri counties in 1850, only four other counties had a higher percentage of enslaved people relative to the total population than Clay County.

According to the Project, critical to understanding the role of slave labor in Clay County is acknowledging the differences between how the slave system worked in the Deep South relative to Missouri. Geography and climate made the large-scale plantations of the Deep South ill-suited for Missouri. Slavery in Missouri tended to be more diversified and smaller in scale. 

Few Missouri slave owners owned more than twenty enslaved people. For many slaveholding farmers with smaller operations, the slaveholders worked in the fields alongside the people they enslaved. Sometimes these slaveholders supplemented their income by renting out enslaved people to perform domestic labor and construction. 

However, as scholars of slavery note, a difference in the organizational structure of slavery does not mean it was any less central to the economic system of Missouri and Clay County. By the end of the 1850s, Missouri was one of the largest hemp-producing states in the nation, and Clay County was among the foremost hemp-producing counties in the state. Since the cultivation of hemp demanded backbreaking labor, slaveholders almost always assigned this task to enslaved people.  

The wealth the citizens of Clay County received from this forced labor would be pivotal to their ability to persuade the Baptists to locate their college in Liberty, as recounted in the first installment in this series. 

As part of its research, the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project interrogated one of the common justifications used to excuse slaveholders – that they were products of their time and did not have significant access to opposing viewpoints. 

The researchers on the SMJP uncovered evidence to the contrary of this argument. 

At the state level, hostility by a large majority of white Missourians towards abolitionist arguments clearly illustrated their awareness of these arguments. The General Assembly approved an act in 1837 that prohibited the promulgation of abolitionist doctrines. Violators of the law faced two years in state prison and a potential maximum $1,000 fine. Repeat offenders faced sharply escalating sentences: 20 years in prison for a second offense, and a life sentence for a third offense. One of western Missouri’s most prominent citizens, Clay County’s Alexander Doniphan, advocated publicly for the bill’s passage.

Though no prominent Missouri politician supported the immediate abolition of slavery during the Antebellum period, not all were favorably disposed towards the institution on moral grounds. In the early 1850s, the legendary Senator Thomas Hart Benton – one of Missouri’s most powerful politicians for three decades – criticized slavery. Although he was himself a slaveholder, Benton castigated slavery as an incurable evil. 

Given Benton’s prominence, his moral condemnation received wide coverage across the state. Benton’s public opposition stands in contrast to Dr. Jewell, who is similarly often portrayed as a slaveholder with antislavery sentiments. However, there is no evidence that Jewell ever publicly spoke out against slavery. 

In Clay County, two revealing incidents from the 1840s and 1850s demonstrate that citizens had exposure to alternative views. 

According to T.J. Stiles’s Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, in the 1840s, two evangelists identified only by their last names Chandler and Love dared to criticize slaveholders in Liberty. Jane Gill, the sister of early Jewell trustee Waltus Watkins,  described Clay Countians as sufficiently “enraged” against this anti-slavery preaching that they “threatened” Love “so that he could not preach there.” Swiftly after this threat, Chandler and Love “fled to a northern state.” 

Clay Countians’ feelings towards abolitionism hardened as the decade progressed. At a public meeting in Liberty concerning the Compromise of 1850, prominent figures and Jewell founders – including Doniphan, James T.V. Thompson and E.M. Samuel – all angrily denounced abolitionists. 

Finally, if there could be any doubt about Clay County’s awareness of abolitionist arguments and pro-slavery tilt, the conflict that became known as Bleeding Kansas silences it.

In 1854, after the Kansas-Nebraska Act determined that the slaveholding status of Kansas would be decided by popular sovereignty, Clay County slaveholders became concerned that a free Kansas would be a disaster for their economic interests and inspire the people they enslaved to attempt more frequent escapes. To prevent that outcome, Clay Countians played a significant role in broader Missourian efforts to ensure Kansas would enter the Union as a slave state. 

Clay Countians, led in part by Doniphan, organized a Pro-Slavery Aid Association dedicated to this outcome. Clay Countians formed part of the wave of Missourians who flooded across the border during voting for the territorial legislature, committing egregious voter fraud in the process. 

At times, the Clay Countians went beyond aid and voter fraud into violence. In December 1855, 100 pro-slavery men from Clay County seized weapons – including a cannon – from the Federal arsenal in Liberty, helped equip a large pro-slavery military force with those weapons and then rode into Kansas to besiege the free-state stronghold of Lawrence. This ‘Wakarusa War’ ended in a negotiated peace arranged by the territorial governor, and Clay Countians returned home, having contributed to efforts to make Kansas a slave state. 

If their actions left any ambiguity regarding the dominant view of white Clay Countians towards slavery, the citizens explicitly articulated their opinion in 1855. Following a mob attack on the Industrial Luminary, an anti-slavery newspaper, by citizens of neighboring Platte County, Clay Countians met to endorse the mob’s actions. At this meeting, an endorsed resolution went so far as to call those holding anti-slavery views traitors that needed to be punished. 

This initial research gathered by the SMJP paints a more complicated narrative regarding the citizens of Clay County than is often presented. It also reveals that William Jewell College was constituted in an environment characterized by staunchly pro-slavery sentiments, even beyond the founders and early trustees. 

For Wilkins and the student researchers of the SMJP, there remains considerably more research to uncover and assemble on the founders and early trustees, faculty and students, and Liberty and Clay County. The parts covered in this investigation only begin to scratch the surface of their ambitions. 

And they don’t plan to stop anytime soon. 

Over the past academic year, the SMJP researchers have invested time into learning best practices from how other colleges and universities have explored their historical ties to slavery. 

One of the best resources established for collaborative knowledge-and-technique sharing is the Universities Studying Slavery consortium established as part of the University of Virginia’s investigation into its historical ties to slavery. Over 70 colleges and universities have joined the consortium. Currently, William Jewell College is not one of them. 

This summer, Wilkins will guide more than a dozen student interns as they contribute to this research by fanning out throughout Missouri to visit county historical societies and archives, as well as continue online research. Several alumni with backgrounds in historical research have also volunteered to join the Project’s work.

Wilkins will continue this research over the next several years, including while on sabbatical this fall. He also plans to offer his HIS 204: Slavery, Memory, and Justice class every spring semester.  

One of the original student researchers, junior political science and history major Hayley Michael, will continue this research through her honors project. Michael will be focusing on Jewell students, faculty and staff between the Antebellum and Reconstruction periods and their ties to slavery. She will defend her honors project in the spring of 2022. 

“In my decade at Jewell, I have never worked with a more dedicated, passionate, idealistic, and impressive group of students,” said Wilkins. 

Wilkins emphasized that the crucial importance of students trained in rigorous historical inquiry is the animating force in this research and generating positive cultural change at Jewell. 

“Since last August, I have focused on helping to create and guide the independent Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project, and recently declined to serve on the administration-created Racial Reconciliation Commission, for two reasons,” said Wilkins. “The first is how the nature of who is doing the work influences whose voices are being heard on how to address this history. The SMJP is student-centered, community-based, and advised by faculty specializing in historical research.  We have done a tremendous amount of work over the past academic year, will collectively decide on when we believe our research is ready to be published and how it should be presented, and work together to advocate for policies that we believe in.”

Wilkins continued to speak on the timeline of the research.

“The second is the timeline of the SMJP’s work: to truly recover the history of slavery’s influence on Jewell will take time, and I expect the research and writing of the 100+ page report on slavery and Jewell will take until mid-2023,” said Wilkins. “That amount of time will be necessary to identify the names of as many of the enslaved people held in bondage by the founders and early trustees as possible, describe the conditions of those enslaved peoples’ lives and investigate the actions of the Jewell community during the Civil War era.”

Wilkins closed the interview by expressing his belief that there is a moral imperative to use our knowledge of slavery’s influence on Jewell’s history to help build a more inclusive college community in the future – a belief that serves as the foundation for all the work done by the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project.

With the 2020-21 academic year coming to a close, The Hilltop Monitor honors its senior staff members, who each have taken time to reflect upon their experience at William Jewell College and share their plans for the future. During their time at Jewell, these staff members have all contributed their time and talents to make the Hilltop Monitor successful.

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Christina Kirk, Oxbridge institutions and policy and international relations major, served as the Editor-in-Chief for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years. After graduation, she plans to work in a clinical setting before taking the MCAT and applying to medical school. Kirk said she is grateful for the opportunities to authentically engage with the Jewell community.

“I will miss a lot of little things like coming to the PLC early in the morning on a cold winter day, grabbing a latte from the Beak and working on homework for a few quiet hours,” Kirk said. “I will deeply miss people like Kiki, Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Lisenby – brilliant individuals who are inconceivably caring and friendly and always make an effort to check in with students.” 

Kirk began writing for the Monitor in fall 2017 with an urgent news story about the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. As an exceptional writer and leader, Kirk helped to uphold The Hilltop Monitor’s prestigious local reputation during both her years as Editor-in-Chief. In April, for the third year in a row, The Hilltop Monitor won first place in the Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) Sweepstakes category for its competing division, winning 21 individual awards along the way. During her time as a writer and editor, she authored 74 stories. 

Kirk won first place in Investigative Reporting at the 2021 MCMA competition with her article “Jewell uses Intercultural Development Inventory to assess cultural competence;” first place in the Sports Column category with her article “Opinion: Enough with the looks-policing in women’s sports;” and second place in the Information Graphic category with her graphic “Intentions for Re-Opening: National Statistics.”

Kirk said she enjoyed seeing new writers develop their journalistic styles and interests over the years.

“The Monitor is not only a great creative outlet for students, but it is also indispensable to the ‘critical thinking’ core of Jewell as an institution because it allows students to critically evaluate and question how well the College serves its community,” Kirk said.

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Catherine Dema, Oxbridge history of ideas and physics major, served as the 2020-21 Features and Investigations Editor. She will be attending the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School next year to pursue public interest law. Dema is grateful for the friends and professors who have supported her during her time at Jewell. She stated that The Hilltop Monitor provided her with many opportunities. 

Dema began writing for The Hilltop Monitor in fall 2017 with an opinion piece about the politicization of science. True to her inquisitive nature, Dema never hesitated to dive deep and provide the community with stories that mattered, be it timely updates on Jewell’s COVID-19 response or an objective examination of diversity at Jewell. She wrote 88 stories.

“Hilltop has served as a constant throughout my time at Jewell and it’s helped me develop friendships I wouldn’t otherwise have,” Dema said. “Also, the Monitor has let me dig into the problems, events and news that I’m passionate and curious about at Jewell.”

Dema won an honorable mention spot in In-Depth News Reporting at the 2021 MCMA competition for her article “Jewell overhauls orientation mentor program in radical inclusivity efforts, COVID-19 response;” second place in Investigative Writing for her article “Jewell cuts 2021-2022 tuition by 45% to increase price transparency,” which was co-authored by Kirk; and honorable mention for Feature Writing for her article “Students and alumni attend local protests in opposition to racism and police brutality,” also co-authored by Kirk.

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Hannah Koehler, psychological sciences and English major, served as the 2020-21 Arts and Culture Editor. She plans to work in the nonprofit sector before attending graduate school for psychology. Her favorite part of college was the support system she built. 

Koehler began writing in fall 2017 with a lifestyle piece criticizing small talk and, with an impressive eye for photography, supplied the Monitor with stunning photo features ever since. In total, she wrote 53 articles, ultimately gifting many of them with unforgettable snapshots into the beauty of all things arts and culture.

“From writing about picnics to Jewell’s historical ties to slavery, the Monitor has allowed me to write about things that matter to me without having a grade attached to it,” Koehler said. 

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Savannah Hawley, Oxbridge literature and theory and French major, served as both the 2020-21 Managing Editor and Chief Copy Editor for the Monitor. Hawley plans to work in journalism after graduation and said her favorite thing about Jewell is the connections she made.

“The relationships I have with my professors and the lifelong friendships I’ve made here were worth every second,” Hawley said.

Hawley began writing for The Hilltop Monitor in fall 2017 with a story about Jewell students fostering animals from local shelter KC Pet Project. As a walking aesthetic, a connoisseur of Kansas City’s culinary arts and an intellectual, she wrote a total of 58 stories, featuring anything from reviews about local vegan cafes to collaborating on investigative pieces about Jewell’s historical ties to slavery.

She said she enjoyed the articles she wrote and will miss the tight-knit team. 

“My favorite memory from the Monitor would probably be going around Kansas City [my] first-year to review coffee shops with Hannah [Koehler] and Catherine [Dema],” Hawley said. “It was so fun to spend time with them while working on an article.”

Hawley won first place in Sports Writing at the 2021 MCMA competition with her article “Recap of the Current Athletic Season,” and third place in the website design category alongside Kirk.

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Madison Carroll Porth, Oxbridge institutions and policy major, will be attending Vanderbilt Law School next year. She said she cherished her time at Jewell and is grateful for the lasting friendships she has made the past four years. 

Carroll Porth began writing in fall 2017 with a news article about criticism surrounding former president Donald Trump’s response to a fallen U.S. soldier. Carroll Porth authored 49 articles on a remarkably comprehensive range of topics, frequently reporting on hard-hitting issues like gender inequality in sports one week and publishing Buzzfeed-like quizzes the next.

“I enjoy writing stories and getting to have a creative outlet when I’m bogged down with school,” Carroll said. “My favorite memory was writing the story about the Jewell 2017 lawsuit with Christina [Kirk] and Sofia [Arthurs-Schoppe]. It is also my most stressful monitor memory.”

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Minnie Goodbody, digital media and communications major, plans to pursue a career in audio/visual editing or social media marketing. She said her college experience was challenging due to the pandemic but she will miss Jewell greatly. Goodbody’s favorite part of her college experience was the lifelong friends and mentors she met. 

Goodbody began writing for the Monitor in winter 2020 with an advice piece about how to start off a new year stress-free. She wrote 14 stories, enriching the Monitor with posts about anything from conspiracy theories to senior features to infographics.

Goodbody won first place in the Nonpolitical/Entertainment Cartoon category at the 2021 MCMA competition with her piece “Cartoon: 2020’s New College Reality.”

“I will miss working on such an inviting and inclusive team of creatives,” Goodbody said. “My favorite memory has to be writing about the Rat King.”

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Junior members of the Oxbridge Honors Program will also be bidding The Hilltop Monitor farewell: Michaela Esau, Oxbridge literature and theory and communications major, and Kyler Schardein, Oxbridge institutions and policy and international relations major.

Esau will be studying literature abroad her senior year at the University of Oxford. She describes her Jewell experience as a time of personal growth. She said her favorite part about the college experience was living on campus with friends.

Esau began writing for the Monitor in fall 2018 with an Arts and Culture story highlighting Jewell students’ international summer plans and authored the much-needed college advice series “Call Your Mother.” She never failed to provide the community with both trendy lifestyle pieces and impactful news stories, writing a total of 62 articles during her time on staff.

“I’m going to miss the people on The Hilltop Monitor,” Esau said. “It’s truly an incredible community and I’ve been so lucky to get to write with an amazing staff. My favorite memory would be writing my April Fool’s Edition story about editorial staff’s various issues with dining services.”

Esau won first place in Editorial Writing at the 2021 MCMA competition with her article “The impact of community on learning,” and third place in the Column category with “How to be good when the world is bad.”

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Schardein served as the 2020-21 Perspectives editor. He will be studying abroad next year at Mansfield College at the University of Oxford. Schardein said he is grateful for the friendships he has made, as well as the different perspectives and processes of thought he has been exposed to during his time at Jewell. 

Schardein said he will miss the Hilltop community and has fond memories of his time working with the Monitor. He began his journey with the Monitor in fall 2018 with an opinion piece on the impact of former President Donald Trump’s trade policies, and he overall utilized his interest and natural talent in policy- and news-writing to deliver 44 imperative and thought-provoking articles to the local community.

Schardein won second place in News Writing at the 2021 MCMA competition with his article “The Movement to Remove a Confederate Soldier Statue from Liberty.”

“My favorite Hilltop memory is also my first one,” Schardein said. “At the first-year organizations fair, the older students working the Hilltop counter were so friendly, enthusiastic, and kind, and as a shy and partly overwhelmed first-year, that struck me and helped inform my decision to initially join the staff.”

Since August of 2020, a group of dedicated student researchers, under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Wilkins, associate professor and chair of the department of history at William Jewell College, has been researching the history of slavery in relationship to Jewell. The research group that the students and Wilkins created, the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project, had its origins in an introductory history seminar last fall. This semester, Project members mainly convene during the HIS 204: Slavery, Memory, and Justice course that Wilkins teaches. They plan to conduct research for as long as it takes to bring the truth about the College’s relationship with slavery to light. This will ultimately conclude with the group publishing their research – writing a more accurate account of Jewell’s history in the hopes of creating a more inclusive college community. 

As the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project compiles and verifies their research, The Hilltop Monitor will publish their findings. This is the third in a series of investigations into the history of slavery at William Jewell College. 

Dr. William Jewell was deeply committed to higher education and used his influence in civic and political affairs to assist with and lead several educational initiatives. Jewell was a member of the Board of Trustees for Columbia Female Academy, the first school for women west of the Mississippi River. He personally donated $1,800 and assisted with the grassroots fundraising for the location of the University of Missouri in Boone County.

In 1849, William Jewell donated $10,000 worth of land towards founding the first all men’s Baptist institution west of the Mississippi River, further demonstrating his dedication to the pursuit of knowledge. In recognition of Jewell’s gift, Missouri Baptists named the college in his honor. The details of the college founding are covered in greater depth in the first two installments of this investigation.

Jewell’s dedication to higher education, philanthropic ideals, and work as a physician and legislator is well-recorded and commended in a variety of different and easily accessible historical sources. These historical accounts, however, only briefly mention Jewell as a slaveholder – if at all. The accounts that do mention his ties with slavery often discuss it in a way that minimizes the significance of his slaveholding by focusing on the eventual manumission of most of the enslaved people he owned.  

In “Jewell is her name: a history of William Jewell College,” written by Hubert Inman Hester in 1967, there are two brief references to Jewell owning enslaved people. Rather than focusing on the economic benefits Jewell derived as a slaveholder, Hester elects to focus on Jewell’s decision to manumit all of the enslaved people he owned by the time of his death. Hester praises this as evidence of Jewell’s “interest in people.” 

In similar fashion, the most recent history of the College – “Cardinal Is Her Color: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Achievement at William Jewell College,” published in 1999 by William Jewell College – mentions that Jewell freed all the enslaved people he owned upon his death.

In a 2015 Hilltop Monitor article, “Who Was William Jewell,” a student writer continues this narrative and incorrectly describes Jewell as an abolitionist. The article, written with information found in the Charles F. Curry Library archives, notes that though Jewell initially owned enslaved people, he emancipated four of them in 1846 and granted freedom to two in his will.  

These accounts of Jewell as a slaveholder make Jewell seem like a gentle man whose slaveholding was benign and even good. The research done by the Slavery, Memory and Justice Project has discovered that: 

• Jewell owned more enslaved people than the College sources have indicated.
• Jewell did not unequivocally free all the enslaved people he owned.
• Jewell’s actual record regarding slavery is more complicated than current narratives portray, and claims that Dr. Jewell was anti-slavery must be reevaluated. 

The Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project researchers, using Federal census records, determined that Jewell owned 13 enslaved people in 1830, six enslaved people in 1840, and five enslaved people in 1850.

Christian Santiago, sophomore history and political science major, has done significant research in the past year. While visiting the Boone County archives, Santiago uncovered a history of Jewell that is not currently reflected in the accounts of the College and its namesake. 

In his research, Santiago found that Jewell manumitted the enslaved people he owned in his will – except for one: Ellen. Rather than freeing her, Jewell provided that Ellen would remain enslaved, first under the ownership of his sister, and then under the control of his grandson after he reached the age of 21. Jewell did include a provision that Ellen would be freed if his grandson died before turning 21, but any children she had would remain enslaved. 

Glancing around the campus, Jewell’s legacy is ubiquitous. From signs to buildings to student sweatshirts, Jewell’s name has been immortalized. There is no recognition, however, for the individuals owned by Jewell who were an integral part of the financial impact that Jewell had on the school. These enslaved individuals were silenced and, until recently, their names were unknown. 

While there are still more names to track down, the Slavery, Memory, and Justice project has identified the names of seven of the individuals held in slavery by Jewell. 

Ellen, Emanuel, Henry, Mandy, Phillis, Ralph and Stephen. 

Jewell was also the president of the Missouri Colonization Society – a branch of the African Colonization Society.

In an article from the Missouri Historical Review titled “Persistency of Colonization” by Donnie D. Bellamy, the racist roots of the American Colonization Society are revealed. This group wanted to remove free Black people from the United States and resettle them in Africa. 

While this group has been referenced as an anti-slavery organization, Bellamy’s article explains that some members of the American Colonization Society saw the organization as pro-slavery, as the removal of free Black people from the country would strengthen slavery. Many African Americans were highly critical of the organization due to the nearly all-white composition of its leadership, the support it garnered from some slaveholders and its denial of free African Americans’ right to stay in the country they played such an integral role in building. 

Jewell’s history is a complex one. His dedication to education and the community is clear and is worth recognition. His eventual emancipation of most of the enslaved people he owned is also significant. 

However, as Santiago explains, this does not erase his status as a man who benefited from the institution of slavery for decades. 

“Even if you choose to view his actions with his slave Ellen or his involvement with the African Colonization Society as some sort of justifiable paternalism, the fact remains that he was aware of abolitionist and other anti-slavery narratives of his time but still actively played into our chattel slavery system,” said Santiago. 

The narrative that the College has of Jewell is incomplete. Jewell’s status as a slaveholder and the complexity of his actions regarding slavery have not been accurately reflected in our history. This abridged history of Jewell is what the Slavery, Memory and Justice Project is dedicated to addressing. 

Santiago addresses the urgency of continuing this research. 

“As members of this community, we inherit the namesake of William Jewell as our own and must choose whether to reject it, ignore it or do something meaningful about it,” said Santiago. “I choose to believe that significant progress can only be made through this final option. Especially as an institution that prides itself on an emphasis on critical thought and inquiry, it would be ignorant of us to subscribe to certain symbols and the legacy of certain individuals if we could not rationalize why we do so. ” 

Jewell and his legacy are intrinsically tied to the school – in more than just a name. As Santiago explains, our legacy is bound to Jewell’s. If we claim to uphold the mission of our school, Jewell’s past with slavery needs to be confronted. 

While rainy days may complicate outdoor plans, don’t cry about it. Some things are simply better on rainy days. April showers are common but don’t have to ruin your day. Here are my recommendations on how to spend your rainy spring days for the best results. 

Find your way to a coffee shop in downtown Kansas City. It is imperative that you find a coffee shop with – and this is very crucial – large windows. Do your homework, read a book and sip a latte all while watching the rain fall outside. 

Here are my favorite coffee shops with excellent windows for your rain-watching endeavors:  

• The Filling Station Coffee
• Vested Coffee 
• Opera House Coffee 
• Banksia

Make a moody rainy day playlist. This activity is best paired with the previous activity. Are you listening to moody music in a coffee shop while it’s raining? You are basically the star of a romantic comedy. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. If you do not want to make a rainy day playlist, you are more than welcome to use mine. 

Go to a bookstore. Nothing – and I mean nothing – makes me want to find a new book to read than a good rainy day. Kansas City has a lovely selection of bookstores to choose from. 

• Prospero’s Books – Located along W 39^th street, Prospero’s has three floors of used books to choose from. Your options for affordable books are endless. 
• Rainy Day Books – The name is appropriate and this little bookstore in Fairway, Kansas, is an ideal choice for a rainy day. 
• Afterward – If you want a cocktail to go along with your book perusing, Afterward is the place for you. This bookstore and bar in the crossroads is one of my favorite places to go, rain or shine. 

Wander around the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art or The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Both museums are free and easily accessible options for the perfect rainy afternoon.

Go for a walk or run. I realize people usually try to avoid going outside on a rainy day, but I find a walk in the rain rather refreshing. With the right music, I am – once again – convinced that I am the star in a romantic comedy. 

Find some comfort food. Rainy days always warrant something warm and comforting. I’d recommend Pho from the Vietnam Café, dumplings from Blue Koi, or the French onion soup from Aixois Bistro.

Watch “The Office,” season 8, episode 21. This is the episode where “The Office” tries to get Phyllis to say all of her rainy-day clichés by noon so Jim will buy them all hot chocolate. For obvious reasons, this is the perfect episode for a rainy day. You could watch the office or simply just burrow into your couch and re-watch the entirety of “New Girl” or “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”