Some of the most important leaders in Kansas City lived on this block. We'll learn about the lives and work of these remarkable men and women, including Hugh Oliver Cook, principal of Lincoln High School; Anna Jones, prominent civil rights leader and suffragette; John E. Perry, founder of Wheatley Provident Hospital; Chester Franklin, founder of the Kansas City Call, and Lucile Bluford, the Call's longtime editor. In addition to discovering these folks, we'll examine the street itself and the attitudes and policies that impacted its rise and fall. When the first Black residents moved to Montgall, it was integrated. Over the course of the 20th century, the street - and the nation - became more segregated, and the Montgall residents responded in various ways. Jim Crow finally ended in the middle of the 20th century, but other policies replaced it, and with devastating consequences.

Instructor bio: Margie Carr is a fourth-generation Kansan and grew up in the Kansas City area. She knew how to attend only one school, the University of Kansas, which is where she earned her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Her undergraduate and doctoral degrees are in education while her master's degree is in museum studies, an area she pursued because it sounded calm. Except for the years spent raising her children when she worked as a freelance writer, she was in classrooms working with every age of student from preschool to the graduate level. Today she trains and supervises volunteers who advocate for children in the foster care system. She is the author of "Kansas City's Montgall Avenue: Black Leaders and the Street They Called Home," winner of the George Ehrlich Award for excellence in writing and chosen as a Notable Book of Kansas in 2024.

 An Osher membership fee of $25 is required to enroll in this class. If you have not paid your membership fee, please click  on the blue link below under "course accessibility" to add the membership fee to your shopping cart. Then continue shopping to select your courses and/or events. If you have questions about whether or not you have paid your member fee, please call 785-864-6779.

Course Accessibility: Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend University of Kansas sponsored events. If you require reasonable accommodations in order to participate in an event, please email jayhawkglobal@ku.edu or call 785-864-6779 at least three weeks before the first day of the event.

Course pre-requisites
(required) Osher Membership Fee