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African Americans in Kansas
Ethnic group in Kansas From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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There is an African-American community in Kansas, including in Kansas City, Kansas.[3] Nicodemus, Kansas is the oldest surviving town west of the Mississippi River settled solely by African Americans.
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was decided in 1954.[4]
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, African Americans comprise 5.7% of Kansas’s population, with the largest communities in Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita. [5]
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History
Kansas was admitted to the United States as a free state in 1861. Some Black slaves were imported to Kansas. Many Black migrants came from the Southern United States as hired laborers while others traveled to Kansas as escaped slaves via the Underground Railroad. The late 1870s saw the arrival of thousands of Black settlers from the South in what became known as the Exoduster Movement. Many of these migrants established all-Black communities, the most notable being Nicodemus, Kansas, founded in 1877 and now recognized as a National Historic Site.[6] Some moved from the South during the Kansas Exodus in the 1860s. Kansas was not immune from Jim Crow segregation, race riots, white supremacy and violence from racist white people. Newspapers have documented incidents of white people lynching a black man in Fort Scott and white mobs attacking black Americans held in jails in Leavenworth, Topeka, and Kansas City.[7]
In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was decided and desegregated schools nationwide.[4]
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Geography
Kansas City also has a significant Black population.[8] Nicodemus is the oldest remaining town settled entirely by African Americans located west of the Mississippi River. Most of the town's founders were formerly enslaved.[9] Most Black people in Kansas originally lived in the Eastern portions of the state because the Underground Railroad had stops there.[10] Kansas City also has a significant Black population.[vague]
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Media
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The Call is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and also is distributed to African-Americans in Kansas City, Kansas.
Politics
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In 1888, Republican Alfred Fairfax was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, becoming the first African American in the state legislature.[11] Today, the Kansas African American Legislative Caucus exists to represent Black members of the Kansas Legislature.
In 2011, Carl Brewer became the first elected Black mayor of Wichita, the state's largest city.[12]
In 2023, Kansas officially recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday, acknowledging the historic and cultural significance of emancipation for African Americans.[13]
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Education
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The Kansas African American Museum in Wichita preserves the legacy of Black Kansans through exhibitions and educational programs.[14] Annual events like the Juneteenth Festival in Kansas City celebrate African American culture and history.[15] The Interstate Literary Association was established in Topeka in 1892.[16] It was a multi-state education organization for African Americans. [17][18]
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Notable people
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2023) |
See also
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References
Further reading
External links
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