Confronting race and denial in Kansas City

Image of African American man standing on street in front of row of American flags.

In 1944, Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal wrote in “An American Dilemma” — his landmark, 1,800-page study — that the subordination of African-Americans is “perhaps the most glaring conflict in the American conscience and the greatest unsolved task for American democracy.” Myrdal’s examination of the so-called “Negro Problem” — and the ways that same problem affects…

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Shimmy and shake

Photo of Sophie Sassafras with words 'Burlesque 101'

Kansas City is no stranger to the art of the tease. Beginning in the ’40s, KC had a vibrant burlesque scene, and some of that legacy lives on with a number of local artists. Sophie Sassafras teaches the craft to a new crop of aspiring performers at studios around the metro. She calls it Burlesque…

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Kansas Teachers Respond to State of the State

Gov. Sam Brownback

When school let out in Johnson County on Thursday, fifth grade teacher Barbara Casey hopped in the car with a fellow teacher and two parents to drive to Topeka, Kansas for Gov. Brownback’s State of the State address. “The main reason I came up there was not for myself,” Casey said. “It was really for…

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