Diversity Affairs Feature

Brown versus Board of Education

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka is a remarkably important event in United States history that allowed African Americans the right to equal educational opportunities and paved the way for universal equality. Oliver L. Brown, a welder for the Santa Fe Railroad and an associate pastor, led the name of over 150 plaintiffs, complied from five states, that created the path for all African American children the right to unrestricted education.

The verdict from the US Supreme Court on May 17, 1954, stated that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” This case became a catalyst for the other important historical events in the area of racial equality, such as the Civil Rights Movement.

Additional Sites
Myth or Truth?:  http://www.nps.gov/brvb/historyculture/mythtruth.htm
National Site:  http://www.nps.gov/brvb/

The Buffalo Soldiers of the Kansas Prairie

The integration of different races in the United States Military has occurred in every major war. African Americans have made significant contributions, including during the Civil War. The US government used African Americans against the Native Americans, and vice versa, to carry out the genocidal intent in the name of “Manifest Destiny.” At the end of the Civil War, 186,000 black soldiers had participated in the Indian War. Fighting for the government was enticing because employment opportunities for African Americans were limited, whereas the military provided shelter, food, education, medical attention, and steady pay.

The first black cavalry unit assigned to duty in the US Army arrived in April, 1867 at Fort Larned. The theory to how they earned the name “Buffalo Soldiers” is that Indians gave them the name because they “respected a brave and powerful adversary, which relates directly to their much revered buffalo,” or because the African American's hair is similar to that of the surrounding buffalo's head (www.buffalosoldier.net).

Additional Site: http://www.buffalosoldiers.com/

www.kshs.org/exhibits/flags/flags4.htm

  

History of the Kansas Colored Infantry

African Americans were not allowed to serve in the military at the beginning of the Civil War. However, when the realization set in that the war would inevitably be lengthy, they were allowed to join the United States Military. The First Kansas Colored Infantry was started by James H. Lane, a US Senator, in the summer of 1862. Lane formed the military group without the permission of the War Department.& The result of his efforts was the First African American Regiment in the northern states. The regiment’s first action was seen on October 29, 1862, at Island Mound in Missouri.

The Second Kansas Colored Infantry was formed in 1863 by Colonel Samuel J. Crawford. This regiment saw action in Arkansas and Oklahoma. They led a famous but bloody charge against the Confederate battery after the underestimation of the other regiments.
Additional Sites
www.kshs.org/tourists/theme/african.htm
www.2.ku.edu/~phbw/links.htm

Historical town of Nicodemus, Kansas

The town of Nicodemus (located in Graham County, Kansas) is a historical landmark that accurately depicts African American life during the Reconstruction Period. After the Civil War, many African Americans left the South in pursuit of a fresh start. Founded by a White town planner and a Black preacher in 1877, Nicodemus was a prosperous town that eventually peaked at 600 residents. The town's name came from a legendary figure who came to America on a slave ship and later purchased his freedom. It was originally settled by freed slaves from Kentucky. However, the population gradually declined due to the location of the railroad, the two World Wars, and the Great Depression.

This historical site consists of five structures: St. Francis Hotel, First Baptist Church, Township Hall, African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Nicodemus District #1 Schoolhouse. Today, Nicodemus is the only remaining African American western town established during the Reconstruction Period.

This section, on African American History in Kansas, was written collaboratively by Morgan Chalfant (Hill City, KS, Senior), Kindra Degenhardt (Hays, KS, Junior), Genesis Ferch (Olathe, Kansas, Graduate Student), and Ashley Jarboe (Oxford, KS, Senior).