African American Heritage Project

In 2024, City Planning and Development has received a $75,000 grant from the National Park Service as part of their Underrepresented Communities Program to increase the number of sites on the National Register of Historic Places that are associated with underrepresented communities.

Over the next 2 years, the Historic Preservation Office will host a series of public outreach meetings. The key deliverables at the end of the grant project are:

1. Citywide historic context statement for African American Heritage in Kansas City, Missouri.
2. Three (3) nominations to the National Register of Historic Places for individual sites that meet these requirements:
   • Still standing (not demolished)
   • Individual building (not a neighborhood, park, monument, etc.)
   • Built before 1974 (over 50 years old)
   • Have property owner consent

For more information, please contact Jennifer Reinhardt by email or phone (816-513-2866)

DOCUMENTS

8/14/2024 Kickoff Meeting Presentation

Background

The African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City, Mo. (AAHTKC) was created through community meetings, community input, and lots of research. AAHTKC.ORG is the result of this work, but it is only Phase 1. The Trail will continue to be a living, evolving, dynamic project built through the power of the community (and an initial grant from the State Historic Preservation Office of Missouri!)

List of Sites: This list includes sites that have already been listed on the Local and National Registers of Historic Places as well as sites, people and events suggested by area residents. Please contact us if you have ideas for sites not listed, or if you have information which will help us identify locations, time period and significance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Library of Documents

Existing National and Kansas City Register-listed African American Historic Sites

• Town of Kansas
• 18th & Vine Historic District
• Santa Fe Place Historic District
• Attucks School
• Paseo YMCA
• Lincoln High School
• U.S. Courthouse and Post Office Kansas City, MO
• Fire Station No. 11
• Green Duck Tavern
• Heider-James Residence
• Mutual Musicians Foundation
• St. James Baptist Church
• Vine Street Workhouse
• Western Baptist Bible College
• Wheatley Provident Hospital
• MPDF for 18th & Vine, Attucks School and Paseo YMCA

Our Partners

Strong partnerships with the many successful community organizations we are lucky enough to have in Kansas City, Mo are a crucial piece in creating this Trail. We would like to acknowledge those who have committed to giving their time, talent or treasure. We value the expertise and resources these organizations provide that will assist us in our efforts and make this project a success! We absolutely welcome more partners along the way.

• American Jazz Museum
• Kansas City Public Library
• Local Investment Commission
• The Missouri State Historic Preservation Office
• Mutual Musicians Foundation
• The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• The Black Archives of Mid America
• Blue Symphony
• The Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center
• Tameka Bell
• Historic Kansas City
• The Kansas City Museum
• UMKC Center for Neighborhoods
• UMKC Center for Midwestern Studies
• UMKC Department of History
• UMKC Miller Nichols Library- Marr Sound Archives/LaBudde Special Collections
• All community members who contributed their time, talent and treasure!

Stay Connected

We value your input and are interested in identifying many more sites throughout the city. If you have any information, questions or comments, please contact Brad Wolf at (816) 513-2902 or email at KCHP@kcmo.org. You can also join the Historic Preservation office’s mailing list to receive updates and information by email, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter for occasional updates. #AAHTKC

This project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office.