KC Black History Project 2025: Legacies of impact
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
Welcome to the 2025 Kansas City Black History Project with a new collection of free booklets, posters and calendars to be shared in honor and celebration of great men and women in our city’s history.
This year’s booklet opens with the words of Major League Baseball trailblazer and Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, noting that he reminds us that one's legacy is largely defined by the positive influence that it had on others.
The six individuals featured in this year’s collection, the booklet states further, have not only excelled in their respective fields, but they've paved the way for others to succeed:
A baseball player and manager who supported Jackie Robinson's ascension to the major leagues, an English teacher who inspired thousands of students, a civil rights activist who fought for education equity, a painter whose style influenced future Black artists, a community leader who fought for human rights, and a musician who was one of the last links to Kansas City's jazz heyday of the 1930s.
LINC annually teams with the Kansas City Public Library and the Black Archives of Mid-America to produce these stories of people who have helped shape our city’s history.
The project’s mission, since in began in 2010, is to share these stories with a broad audience and inspire future generations.
So learn how to get your copies of the project — and how to download past year’s posters and booklets — at kclinc.org/blackhistory.
And read full-length bios and connect to the Kansas City Public Library’s full collection of Black history materials at kcblackhistory.org.
Booklets are available at branches of the Kansas City Public Library and the Black Archives of Mid-America, 1722 E 17th Terrace, in Kansas City.
Here’s a quick peek at the Kansas City Black History Class of 2025:
See how to pick up or order the 2025 KC Black History booklet, calendar and posters, or how to download past year’s collections at:
Connect to the Kansas City Public Library ‘s full compilation of Black History materials at:
Anne Thomas — an educator, counselor and civil rights activist who led the Kansas City YWCA in becoming a force both locally and internationally in advancing human rights.
Claude Williams — a master of stringed instruments, most notably the violin, who played with greats like Mary Lou Williams, Nat “King” Cole and Count Basie, and was the last direct link to the 1930s jazz scene.
Frank Duncan — a Negro Leagues baseball star whose stardom as a dominant catcher included several championship years with the KC Monarchs.
Henry Ossawa Tanner — a painter who is recognized as the first African American artist to gain international fame, whose time visiting his Kansas City, Kan., parents inspired a vibrant stylistic shift.
Jeremiah Cameron — an educator, newspaper columnist and civil rights advocate who promoted the work of the NAACP and was awarded for his work against discrimination.
Julia H. Hill — an educator and administrator who dedicated her life to civil rights and educational equity, inspiring a generation of leaders through classrooms and direct civil action protests.
Top photo of protesters courtesy the Black Archives of Mid-America.
