Kansas City, MO

American Jazz Museum
DESCRIPTION: The exhibits on Duke Ellington, Charley “Bird” Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong alone are worth the trip for jazz fans; Listen to more than 100 of the greatest jazz recordings; that’s not boasting when you can claim Bennie Moten, the great Charley “Bird” Parker, Big Joe Turner and Count Basie as Kansas City mainstays--each shaped, innovated or helped popularize jazz into the mainstream of American culture; interact with several exhibits and watch a short film on the history of Jazz in Kansas city; Tue-Sat 9a-6p, Sun Noon-6p; Combination tickets for admission to both museums are $8 adults, $4 children, Group rates available

DAYS & HOURS:

ADDRESS: 1616 East 18th Street

PHONE: 816-221-1920

WEBSITE: http://www.americanjazzmuseum.com

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
DESCRIPTION: Perhaps the liveliest, but certainly the most challenging chapters of American baseball are stunningly presented at this museum; it features a stadium entrance, history gallery, a legend’s field of bronzed former Negro Leagues Baseball players inducted into the Major Leagues Baseball Hall Of Fame; a diamond Theatre where you take in a rare film footage of Negro Leagues players in action, interactive stations to test and assist your knowledge of NLB and much more; Tue-Sat 9a-6p, Sun Noon-6p; Combination tickets for admission to both museums are $8 adults, $4 children, Group rates available; Horace Peterson 18th Street Visitors Center connects both museums and has a wealth of information about the contributions the 18th & Vine area had made on the cultural, social, and economic development of Kansas City; takes a trip back to the 1930s with an audiovisual presentation on the African American experience in the area

DAYS & HOURS:

ADDRESS: 1616 East 18th Street

PHONE: 816-221-1920

WEBSITE: http://www.nlbm.com

Gem Theater
DESCRIPTION: Built in 1912, this theater was recently fully restored to its former greatness—only one of a handful of historically Black theaters nationwide that has been restored rather than destroyed; today it serves as popular entertainment venue for concerts in the 18th & Vine District

DAYS & HOURS: event dependent

ADDRESS: 1615 East 18th Street

PHONE: 816-474-VINE

WEBSITE:

“Bird” Memorial to Charlie Parker
DESCRIPTION: In 1999 this 17-foot tall bronze bust salutes the most famous and beloved jazz player in Kansas City; sculpted by Robert Graham, the memorial is located on a plot of land where Bird traversed as he made his rounds from various dwellings in the area to the nearby nightclubs in the 18th and Vine district

ADDRESS: off 1700 block of Paseo Blvd

Mutual Musicians Foundation
DESCRIPTION: For decades the foundation has been the after-hours meeting place for Kansas City Jazz musicians; what began as the Black Musicians Union Local 627 in 1904, and was later renamed the Mutual Musicians Foundation, purchased and moved into its present location in 1930; this center for the development of Jazz as an American art form was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1982

DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Sat 2a-6p; jam sessions Friday & Saturday nights 1a-5a

ADDRESS: 1823 Highland

PHONE: 816-471-5212

WEBSITE:

Black Archives of Mid-America
DESCRIPTION: This archives and African American museum located in the historic 18th and Vine District is a not-for-profit organization contains of one of the nation’s largest collections of Black art, paintings, sculptures, and research on the Kansas City area and famous local Black leaders; it chronicles the African American experience in the four-state area of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Oklahoma; Group tours available

DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Fri 9a-4:30p

ADDRESS: 2033 Vine Street

PHONE: 816-483-1300

WEBSITE: http://www.blackarchives.org

Bruce R Watkins Cultural Heritage Center & Museum
DESCRIPTION: This center was built to honor the contributions of African American residents of the Kansas City area by providing an arena for cultural events and is dedicated to the late city councilman, Bruce R. Watkins, and stands in tribute to the legacy of Kansas City’s early African American pioneers; It embodies the artistic, cultural and social history of the African American experience; Watkins was a political and social activist who was fueled by the need to recognize and preserve the varied contributions African American made to the development of Kansas city; the facility is part of a cultural mall complex, which includes the Spirit of Freedom Fountain, Satchel Paige Memorial Stadium and a hillside garden; the center includes the Bruce R. Watkins permanent exhibit space, a children’s workspace, a library, an auditorium and two art galleries

ADMISSION: free

DAYS & HOURS:

ADDRESS: 3700 Blue Parkway

PHONE: 816-923-6226

WEBSITE: link

Spirit of Freedom Fountain
DESCRIPTION: One of the last projects started by late civic leader Bruce R. Watkins, this fountain was dedicated in 1981, exactly one year after his death.  At the groundbreaking ceremony, Watkins said the wading pool/fountain was “dedicated to the men and women who came here a century ago, as slaves, who felled the trees, built the roads, launched their dreams”.  The fountain’s sculptural centerpiece is an abstract flame representing freedom and incorporating the improvisational style of Kansas City Jazz; designed by Black sculptor Richard Hunt

ADDRESS: southwest corner of Cleveland and Brush Creek Blvd

Jazz Film Archives
DESCRIPTION: University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music hosts the largest and rarest collection of Jazz films in the country in this archives

DAYS & HOURS:

ADDRESS: between Volker Blvd, Oak Street, 53rd Street, and Rockhill Road

WEBSITE: http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/marr.html

African American History & Culture House
DESCRIPTION: Offers a meeting space, educational resource assistance, programming and a computer facility for UMKC and the nearby Black community

DAYS & HOURS:

ADDRESS: 5245 Rockhill Road, UMKC campus

PHONE: 816-235-5641

WEBSITE: link

Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey
DESCRIPTION: In 1984, Kansas City civic and cultural leaders were inspired by choreographer and dancer, Alvin Ailey, and his extraordinary vision: a diverse community united by dance to inspire and change lives; together with Mr. Ailey, a multicultural coalition founded Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (KCFAA) and established Kansas City as the second home of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, after New York City; KCFAA also offers arts education programs and AileyCamp, an award-winning program for young people; call for calendar of events and venues

DAYS & HOURS:

ADDRESS: office

PHONE: ; 816-471-6003

WEBSITE: http://www.kcfaa.org

Kansas City, KS

Robert Roe Collection
DESCRIPTION: Donnelly College houses an exquisite collection of African American historical artifacts of the region

DAYS & HOURS:

ADDRESS: 608 North 18th Street

PHONE: 913-621-8735

WEBSITE:

United Nation of Islam Community
DESCRIPTION: An offshoot of the Nation Of Islam, the United Nation of Islam and is headed by minister Solomon, is known for sparking a wide variety of businesses in “Your Community”; UNI is very serious about building an ecosystem to control the money flow in the community; here you’ll find a variety store, supermarket, gas station, restaurant, colonic treatment center, a construction company, cleaners, and they can food products; Allah’s Temple Academy

SUNDAY WORSHIP: 2p

ADDRESS: Quindaro Street between 17th and 10th Streets

PHONE: 913-281-2848

WEBSITE: http://unitednationofislam.com

Fort Leavenworth, KS

Buffalo Soldiers Monument
DESCRIPTION: On July 25, 1992 the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, comprised of African American soldiers, were honored with the dedication by General Colin Powell of a magnificent bronze statue of a Buffalo Soldier in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; The Buffalo Soldiers, formed in 1866 as named by Cheyenne warriors, were instrumental in the opening of the West and were headquartered in Louisiana (9th Cavalry) and Kansas (10th Cavalry); The monument is surrounded by two pools of water and a nine foot waterfall

ADDRESS: about 20 minutes west of KCI airport

PHONE: 913-684-5604