Stories of resilience and change in Kansas City community

This collection of stories highlights perseverance and progress within the Kansas City community.

A Kansas City lumber yard owner plans to build 500 homes on the East Side, blending affordable housing solutions with family tradition. A set of Plaza statues has survived acts of vandalism, showing how public art restores and adapts over time.

A jazz pianist develops new pathways for young artists, uniting music and visual arts in projects like ProdoLab. A chef combines technology and fine dining to create immersive restaurant experiences. Historical narratives include the integration of Queen of the World Hospital and the legacy behind an unusual monument in Penn Valley Park.

Work by advocates such as Kim Riley, who helps young people with disabilities enter the workforce, points to ongoing efforts toward inclusion. The Junior League organizes events to tackle women’s issues, and ACT-UP’s activism changed LGBTQ rights in Kansas City. Old stories surface too, like the city’s first movie showing and the city’s early expansion through dedicated individuals.

Read the stories below.

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The Charles Carroll Spalding memorial in Penn Valley Park.

NO. 1: HOW A ‘BORDER RUFFIAN’ WHO SUPPORTED SLAVERY GOT A MONUMENT HONORING HIM IN A KC PARK

A reader asked about the history behind a memorial to Charles Carroll Spalding in Penn Valley Park. We unearthed the complicated story behind Kansas City’s first historian. | Published May 22, 2024 | Read Full Story by Michael Wells

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Two bronze castings of Chinese terracotta warriors stand just off the Country Club Plaza. A gift from Kansas City’s sister city of Xi’an, the statues were vandalized multiple times in their first year in Missouri. June 11, 2024. By Eleanor Nash

NO. 2: THESE KC WARRIORS HAVE SURVIVED 3 DECAPITATIONS. LEARN THE HISTORY OF THE PLAZA STATUES

A Star reader asked about these gifts from a sister city. Turns out, they had a rough first year in Kansas City. | Published June 12, 2024 | Read Full Story by Eleanor Nash

Dominique Allen, chef at Hotel Phillips in Kansas City, adds fun and drama to dining with the Le Petite Chef and Friends 3D immersive dinner. By J.M. Banks

NO. 3: KC CHEF BLENDS TECH AND FINE DINING: DELIGHTING PATRONS WITH ONE-OF-A-KIND EXPERIENCE

I get excited every time for people to enjoy this experience and I get to see them tap into their inner child seeing something new and different. | Published October 26, 2024 | Read Full Story by J.M. Banks

Eddie Moore, jazz pianist and arts advocate, works to evolve the sound of jazz in the Kansas City metro by pushing the genre through innovative performances.

NO. 4: KANSAS CITY JAZZ PIANIST FORGES PATHWAYS TO GROW THE GENRE, ATTRACT NEW MUSIC LOVERS

“We need to get back to the roots of the music and grow to bring in new people otherwise who are we trying to share it with?” | Published January 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by J.M. Banks

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Queen of the World Hospital By FILE

NO. 5: QUEEN OF THE WORLD: HOW THIS KANSAS CITY HOSPITAL SET STANDARD FOR RACIAL INTEGRATION

The unusually named facility was the first general hospital in KC to welcome both white and Black patients, setting a new medical standard in the metro. | Published February 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michael Wells

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The Isis Theater, which was open from 1918 to 1970.

NO. 6: WHAT WAS THE FIRST MOVIE EVER SHOWN IN KANSAS CITY? KCQ BREAKS DOWN CINEMA HISTORY

When movies were first made and shown in Kansas City, they were curious phenomena and not the cultural staples they would become. | Published February 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Sarah Biegelsen

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Daniel Edwards and his wife Ebony Edwards, a Kansas City psychologist, are among a handful of Black lumber yard owners in the country and he wants to use his resources to build much needed homes in the KC metro.

NO. 7: KC LUMBER YARD OWNER PLANS TO BUILD 500 HOMES ON KC’S EAST SIDE WITHIN FOUR YEARS

“I can say through my research I am one of probably five Black owned lumber yards in the country.” | Published March 8, 2025 | Read Full Story by J.M. Banks

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After her son was diagnosed with intellectual developmental disabilities, Kim Riley, founder of the Transition Academy, created the organization to give students with disabilities the training and resources they need to find meaningful work.

NO. 8: A SON WITH DISABILITIES LED EX-JOURNALIST TO HELP OTHERS LIKE HIM FIND LASTING JOBS

"I felt as if they only saw his challenges and not his abilities." | Published March 22, 2025 | Read Full Story by J.M. Banks

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Anna Thomas-Rios, member of the Junior League of Kansas City has worked with the organization for six years and currently organizing the 8th annual C3KC conference that brings together civic and community leaders to solve problems in the metro.

NO. 9: A FAMILY MANTRA LED A KANSAS CITY WOMAN INTO A LIFE OF SERVICE AND EMPOWERING WOMEN

“We are living history and we make an impact in the community with the work we do everyday.” | Published March 29, 2025 | Read Full Story by J.M. Banks

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Members of ACT-UP/KC in the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in Washington, D.C.

NO. 10: HOW ACT-UP FOUGHT FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS IN KANSAS CITY DURING THE HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC

After seeing an exhibition of ACT-UP buttons, a reader wrote to What’s Your KCQ for more information about the organization’s history in Kansas City. | Published June 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Patrick Salland

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.