Kansas History - Summer 2019
(Volume 42, Number 2)
Special Issue: Quindaro
The summer issue is a special issue devoted to the history surrounding the free-state Missouri River town called Quindaro. It includes a diverse collection of provocative essays from a 2018 symposium that probe the town’s meanings to its varied inhabitants and beyond.
Tai S. Edwards and James N. Leiker, "Introduction."
Guest co-editors Tai S. Edwards and James N. Leiker introduce the issue with a brief discussion of Quindaro’s historical founding—and the long journey to its 2019 designation as a National Commemorative Site.
Rev. Stacy R. Evans, "The More Things Change..."
The Reverend Stacy R. Evans considers Quindaro from the perspective of her role in pastoring at Allen Chapel AME Church.
John Nichols "Canada to Kansas: The Wyandot Origins of Quindaro."
John Nichols’s essay engages the Native American context in his focus on the Wyandot origins of the town.
Nicole Etcheson, "The Homestead of the Free: Freedom and Prosperity in Quindaro, Kansas."
While much has been written about the ideological battles over slavery expansion into Kansas Territory, Nicole Etcheson exposes the economic motivations among freestaters in their town-building efforts.
Ian H. Munro, "A Spot of Human Ground: Changing Perceptions of Quindaro and Its History."
Ian H. Munro traces the different ways that Quindaro and its inhabitants were portrayed in local, regional, and distant newspapers.
Paul Wenske, "Western University at Quindaro and Its Legacy of Music."
As Paul Wenske details in his essay, one of the more remarkable legacies connected to Quindaro was Western University, a historic black school, especially its music program—and the numerous notable music students who began their careers there.
Fred Whitehead, with the assistance of Marvin Robinson, "The Struggle to Save the Quindaro Site, 1982-1989."
Fred Whitehead brings attention to the significant struggle behind preservation efforts during the 1980s to save the Quindaro town site.
Anna L. Jacobson, comp. and ed., “Facing the Riverfront”: Oral Histories of Quindaro."
Preservation also comes in the form of collecting oral histories, and these are the focus of Anna L. Jacobson’s essay. Her interviews of older residents cover the topics of childhood, community life, work, and hopes for the future.
James N. Leiker, "Five Lessons We Can Learn From Quindaro."
Finally, James N. Leiker brings together the collective ideas of the contributors as lessons we can learn from historic Quindaro.
Book Reviews
Book Notes
