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African American historic sites and attractions in Topeka
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Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Topeka’s early history in part one, and the city’s numerous attractions in part two, now lead us to several fantastic African American personalities and historic sites in the city.
By 1900, approximately 14 percent of the total population in Topeka consisted of African-Americans, and over the years, many emerged as influential folks that helped to shape the cultural landscape.
For example, the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, was a Topeka native.
Scientist George Washington Carver, although not born in Kansas, spent many of his formative years in several cities near Topeka, as did author Langston Hughes.
Famed photographer Gordon Parks was born just a stone’s throw away from the city in 1912.
Despite the clash of pro- and anti-slavery forces battling in Kansas in its early years, African Americans still managed to establish their own communities in Topeka. In recognition of this early African American history, the city has established a Freedom’s Pathway, which connects several entities involved with the road to freedom.
One of the spots along the Pathway is the Monroe School Neighborhood, an early working-class African American neighborhood. The focal point of the neighborhood (roughly bound by Monroe Street, Kansas Ave, 17th St. and 14th St.) was the Monroe Elementary School, one of five all-black schools in town.
Built in 1874, the school is an architecturally impressive, Italian Renaissance-style building whose claim to fame is that it became the center of the landmark Supreme Court Case: Brown v. Board of Education. Brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1951 and ultimately won by Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1954, the case challenged the constitutionality of racial segregation in public schools, and with its passing essentially dismantled the legal basis for racial segregation in schools and other public facilities across the country.
It is here that you will find the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site. Inside visitors will enjoy a wealth of interesting exhibits and other features set amidst the restored school building and classroom settings (even the bathrooms and hallway drinking fountains are as they were way back when).
The best place to start is in the auditorium where seven expansive screens present the award-winning film, Race and the American Creed, which explores the historical events leading up to the landmark Supreme Court case.
The Education and Justice classroom gallery is highlighted by several hands-on, interactive computer stations, educational question and answer boards regarding discrimination and a plethora of details about the people, places and events that shaped the years right before and after the Court’s decision.
Kiosks, music stations, special exhibits and more are part of The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education gallery, while the Expressions and Reflections gallery located inside the former Kindergarten room, invites visitors to share their thoughts about the historic site via words, pictures or speech on several computer screens.
A “do not miss” here is definitely the bookstore. Operated by the Western National Parks Association, the bookstore contains an extraordinary selection of books, posters, CDs and other media relative to the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Civil Rights Movement, African American history, influential African American personalities, law, education, and more.
To say that the bookstore is impressive is an understatement, and according to the docent working there the day we visited, it most likely possesses the largest collection of Civil Rights information in the Midwest.
For residents and visitors alike, Topeka offers a wealth of interesting attractions, museums, historic districts, cultural sites and more.
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