How the KC Library is preserving a ‘time capsule of Black history’ from The Call
Photos of Martin Luther King Jr.
Letters from Harry Truman.
Images of Henry Perry, the father of Kansas City barbecue.
These documents and more will be available for public viewing in the next couple of years as part of a new agreement between the Kansas City Public Library and The Call, the century-old African American community newspaper.
In a deal that was more of a decade in the making, the library acquired The Call’s photography archive, which contains approximately 70,000 photos, documents, reporters’ notes and letters kept in boxes underground near Worlds of Fun in Subtropolis.
Jason Joseph, The Call’s distribution and sales manager, described the archive as “a time capsule of Black history.”
“(People) can look and see that this history is not too long ago.”
The photos and documents date from the 1940s to the early 2000s, according to a 2012 general survey of the boxes. Many photos show Black athletes, politicians, performers, and everyday individuals in Kansas City and around the country.
A large number of images date back to the 1940s through 60s, during World War II and the Civil Rights Movement.
The acquisition was originally discussed in 2012, when The Call approached the library. But after leadership changes at both organizations, they were able to come to an official agreement, said Jeremy Drouin, manager of special collections at the Kansas City Public Library.
Drouin said his team won’t know exactly what is inside the boxes until they start archiving.
“There’s a good chance that there will be many images that we’ll find that were never published in the paper.”
Library officials estimate the organization will devote approximately $1 million to the archive, including purchasing the documents for $315,000 and processing and uploading the items. Drouin said the library is looking for funding through grants and individual donors.
It will be two years or longer before researchers and genealogists can search through the photo library, Drouin said.
First, archivists must preserve the papers: uncurling corners, unsticking photos, removing staples. They will also record the information on each of the items, noting the names, locations and dates written on the back of prints. Then, archivists will scan the items and put them onto the library’s website.
Drouin is optimistic that the painstaking work will be worthwhile to Kansas Citians.
“It definitely has the potential to be of great benefit to not only scholars and researchers of Kansas City history, but genealogists looking for specific family members.”
Learn more about Kansas City’s Black history with The Call’s newspaper archive from 1922 to 2010, which is already searchable online through a separate agreement with the library. Find other local research and genealogy resources by going to kcblackhistory.org/research and kchistory.org/research/black-kansas-city.
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 3:46 PM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story inaccurately described the acquisition as a donation. The Call was paid for its collection. The story has been updated.
