Abstract:
When most Americans think about the struggle for civil rights, their thoughts immediately tum to the South during the tumultuous decades of the 1960s and 1970s. This focus on civil rights as the domain of recent history has limited our understanding of the movement by neglecting the origins of segregation as it spread across the nation. As segregation spread west, it took on many Southern characteristics but was profoundly influenced by local factors such as culture, demographics, and the actions of local community members. Segregation in Kansas was no exception, with separate schools being established at various times and in various ways according to these factors.
The most visible example of segregation in Kansas was Sumner High School in Kansas City. Sumner was the only segregated high school ever to operate in the state, yet its story is representative of the racial attitudes that existed at the time of its founding. Prior to its creation, black and white children in Kansas City attended segregated grammar schools but were integrated at the secondary level. State law forbid segregation at the high school level until a movement was begun by students and parents, allegedly due to the killing of a white student by a black youth. A deeper analysis reveals that the movement was not the result of this tragedy, but rather the result of demographic changes which facilitated the construction of an additional school combined with the racial antagonisms which existed in the state at this time.
