The Journal
A Day
Trip Celebrating Kansas City’s Leeds Neighborhood
By Joe Louis Mattox
|
By Joe
Louis Mattox. On February 6, 2003, during Black History Month I was
among a group of Kansas Citians who chartered three busses for a road trip to
the State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri. We were excited to be present
at the opening of a newly installed interpretive exhibit, “LEEDS: A Historic
Black Community in Kansas City, Missouri.” Mr. Mattox’s article discusses
this eventful trip with insights into the Leeds African-American community. A
version of his article appeared in the Kansas City Call newspaper
March 28, 2003. The Leeds exhibit was open throughout the summer 2003 at
the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center at 3700 Blue Parkway in Kansas
City. For information on current and upcoming exhibits, call the Center at
816.784.4444; or, check out the Society’s hotlink to
the Center’s website. Willard Sherwin Buckles wrote an early History of
Leeds, Mo., for the Society in 1967, and his narrative was included as an
addendum to Mr. Mattox’s story. Joe Louis Mattox majored in history and government at
Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. He lives in Kansas City. Websites
offering more information: The main
street in Leeds, 37th Street Hazel
Brown Williams biography Black
History exhibit unveiling An Historical
Look at African Americans in Greater Kansas City To
order this JOURNAL edition, subscribe or join JCHS click
here.
Section showing the Leeds district from a 1925
Atlas of Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri. |
