A Brief History Of America’s Middle Class

Russians look at Television sets

“The middle class is disappearing” has been a standard line during this election cycle. As it turns out, it’s not wrong. Last year was the first recorded year that middle-income families no longer made up the majority in America, according to the Pew Research Center. What this actually means economically is a mixed bag, but…

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Rewriting The History Books

The Robert Browning apartment building

Tom Taylor is about to rewrite a chapter of Kansas City history. Through research for an upcoming talk, the architectural historian has debunked the long-held belief that a group of apartment buildings on the west side of the Country Club Plaza are the sole work of well-known architect Nelle Peters. Jesse Lauck and Elmer Boillot…

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The Power of Play

This photo shows Arabella Grayson standing next to her private collection of African American paper dolls.

To make a paper doll you need paper, utensils used for drawing and/or coloring, an imagination, and illustrated clothing for the doll. Now, go back 150 years and make that paper doll black. To the previous list of materials, add a hidden agenda, hatred and cruelty toward a certain people, and a narrow definition of…

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Game Changer

Jackie Robinson’s push for racial equality spanned a lifetime where he used his athleticism as a conduit to challenge our country’s segregated system and demand change. Now, a new two-part film on his life airs next week on KCPT. (Flatland is KCPT’s digital magazine.) Through a collection of old photos, film, and interviews, the project delves…

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Back Into the ‘Underground’

During dress rehearsal Wednesday night, co-choreographer Tobin James of Storling Dance Theater’s “Underground” at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts struggled to speak. Sick, exhausted, her voice shot, she breathed deep as she watched the final rehearsal from a dark corner offstage. Twenty rows back in the sixteen hundred seat auditorium, co-choreographer Mona Enna…

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