08/10/2024
We Need Your Help Saving A Piece of Important Kansas City History
For the past year, I've had the honor of working with the Dunbar Heart of the City Neighborhood Association, Americorps, Dunbar Farms, Neighborhood History Committee, UMKC Center for Neighborhoods, and the Kansas City Museum helping create a museum exhibit for the Dunbar Neighborhood. The exhibit will have oral histories, artifacts, photographs, articles, etc and will be featured at Kansas City Museum. Later the exhibit will have a permanent place in the Dunbar Neighborhood. This neighborhood has a unique and important history in regards to Kansas City and African Americans in the early 1900's. It was established as an exclusive African American Neighborhood in the late 1800's & early 1900's. Home ownership was above 90%, which was rare for African Americans at the time. The residents were mostly families who migrated from the South and settled in the rural like neighborhood. They grew their own food, raised livestock, hunted in the woods, and fished in the nearby creek & Blue River. They owned and operated every type of business they needed to sustain themselves. They also bartered, shared resources, and hosted rent parties to keep their homes. Many elders from the neighborhood gave the area the " Garden of Eden" nickname. In many ways, it was Kansas City's Black Wall Street, that many don't know about yet, and the reason there is a museum exhibit being created to tell the story. Over the years, many of the structures have been torn down because of neglect, abandonment, fires, floods, tornadoes, and disinvestment.
The building we are trying to save is one of the last standing and holds a dual use zoning. The only one of it's kind in the Dunbar Neighborhood. This location sits on the line that use to be the Kansas City Limits, prior to being annexed in 1909. The building has housed many different Black businesses in it's 124 year history. One of the most notable Black businesses was a neighborhood grocery store, owned and operated by WWI veteran Oscar Mertin Scott, in the 1930's and 1940's. Well, now this building is in danger of being erased from history like so much of our history has been before.
Help if you can by making a donation and or sharing with your network. We only have a short time to raise funds, but we are hopeful that enough people will be moved and understand how important this structure and it's history is.
Financial support to this cause will provide an opportunity to preserve this important piece of African American history in Kansas City and avoid further deterioration of the Dunbar Neighborhood. Our goal is to raise $9,300 to pay the delinquent taxes.
HCNA is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and your donations may be tax deductible. Donations can be made:
- via CashApp to $dunbarheartofcity
- by check or money order payable to “Heart of the City Neighborhood Association” and mailed to P O Box 300582, Kansas City, MO 64130 or delivered to our office at 5201 East 35th Street, Kansas City MO 64128 or
- deposits to the Heart of the City Neighborhood Association account (ending in 8714) at any Arvest Bank location.
Link to more information & pictures
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/b64acf4a2c.html
Please Share this with your network!
Damon Lee Patterson
