Request a Speaker

Speaker Details Eric P. Anderson   A History of the American Indian Boarding Schools This presentation examines the thinking behind the creation of federal schools for American Indian children and how this affected Native communities in the short and long term. Speaker Details Prisca Barnes   The Dockum Drugstore Sit-in In July 1958, Black students gathered at downtown Wichita's Dockum Drugstore to stage a peaceful protest against the unequal practice of segregation. What happened during the three-week sit-in? Speaker Details Angela Bates   Children of the Promised Land Nicodemus, a small unincorporated town in Graham County, is the only remaining western town that was established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War. Speaker Details Beverley Olson Buller   William Allen White and the KKK In Kansas The tumultuous 1924 Kansas Gubernatorial campaign was the time William Allen White chased the Ku Klux Klan out of Kansas. Speaker Details John Burchill   People, Places, and Politics in 1800s Kansas Pioneer James R. Mead was a man of his times, and is now considered one of Wichita's founding fathers. What can be learned from Mead's influence on the state's early development? Speaker Details Patricia Cecil   Faith and Camp Funston Camp Funston, located at Fort Riley near Junction City, was the largest divisional training camp during WWI. This presentation explores the way in which servicemen experienced and expressed faith in the camp as they prepared for war overseas. Speaker Details Gene Chávez   Flour Power During the period of the Mexican Revolution, many immigrants made their way to Kansas to raise their families and work in the railroad, agricultural, industrial, and hospitality sectors of the state. Speaker Details Ann Dean   The Power of Imagery and the Civil Rights Experience This presentation will delve into the impact of photography on the civil rights movement in the aftermath of the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education. Speaker Details Virgil Dean   "We, The People of Kansas..." The Story of Kansas's Founding Documents, 1820-2020 A nation or state's founding documents speak to the values and aspirations of its people, and at a functional level, provide the functions of government. For Kansas, this is the 1859 Wyandotte Constitution. Speaker Details Phil Dixon   The Kansas City Monarchs and America's National Pastime The history of Negro League baseball in America mirrors the racial strife experienced by African Americans in society. This talk sheds new light on this sports history and the history of baseball in Kansas. Speaker Details Will Haynes   The Civil War in Kansas For Kansans, the violent guerrilla warfare between proslavery and antislavery forces known as Bleeding Kansas foreshadowed the national Civil War to come. Explore the story of Kansas during the Civil War and how it helped shape the state's image. Speaker Details Kara Heitz   The Lingering Dust: Visualizing 1930s Kansas through Art, Photography, and Film In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy comments, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” This talk examines the contrasting depictions of Kansas in the 1930s, in film and art, and how they persisted in later decades.  Speaker Details Katie Keckeisen   Life in Kansas During the Dust Bowl Black Sunday – April 14, 1935 – is an unforgettable moment in history. How did Kansans respond to this challenging moment in history? Speaker Details Katie Keckeisen   Beyond the Veil: A History of Spiritualism It seems one of the eternal questions that has plagued humanity centers around what happens to us when we die. Most modern religions try to tackle this question, but no did so with more fervor that modern Spiritualism. Speaker Details Isaias McCaffery   Last Stand at Rebel Creek: The Osage as Union Allies in Civil War Kansas As conflicts between states increased during the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy tried to use the Osage to achieve their own aims. This presentation explores the Osage contributions to the Union cause in Kansas during the Civil War.  Speaker Details Valerie Mendoza   Beyond Brown: Mexican Struggles for Equality Before and After Brown V. Board This presentation looks at the ways the Latino communities banded together to fight discrimination and demand equal protection under the law, focusing special attention on Kansas examples.  Speaker Details Ray Mizumura-Pence   The Disability Rights Movement In the 1960s, people with disabilities and their allies fought to ensure full citizenship and civil rights to a population often overlooked or approached with pity. Speaker Details Leo E. Oliva   Railroaded: The Industry That Shaped Kansas This presentation examines the complicated legacy of railroads and the impact on native peoples who called Kansas home.  Speaker Details Donna Rae Pearson   Mapping Inequality This presentation explores the history of redlining and its lingering impact on today’s communities. Speaker Details Donna Rae Pearson   The Women of Brown Twelve Black women were at the forefront of the civil rights movement as plaintiffs in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. This presentation will shine a light on their stories. Speaker Details Thomas Prasch   World's Fair Remnants in Kansas This talk will share the history and significance of international exhibitions worldwide and focus on the wonders held today in the towns of Lawrence, Lindsborg, and Wamego.  Speaker Details Murl Riedel   A New Generation of Veterans: Stories From Iraq and Afghanistan Soldiers from Kansas were some of the first deployed to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. They returned again and again, yet their stories remain largely untold. Speaker Details Murl Riedel   Architecture of the People's Houses ​Kansas has 105 county courthouses and hundreds of city halls, plus a few more state capitals than you might expect. The designs of these buildings tell us about the evolution of local government in the state. Speaker Details Eric Sexton   Remembering Brown v Board of Education This presentation will explore the intricacies of the five cases included in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and explore the transformative impact of this landmark decision. Speaker Details Lem Sheppard   African American Musicians in Kansas 1860-1920 African American musicians from 1860-1920 are often part of an under-told story in Kansas history. Speaker Details Diana Staresinic-Deane   Researching Your Home and the People Who Lived There Researching a property -- whether an old home, a new business, or a section of pastureland -- can do more than tell us the history of a space; it can also help us build a human connection to the people who came before us and their experiences. Speaker Details Mary Ann Thompson   Married to Adventure: Osa and Martin Johnson's Films Pioneers in the early history of documentary filmmaking, Kansans Osa and Martin Johnson traveled the world filming people and wildlife in early 20th century. Speaker Details John Edgar Tidwell   Good Trouble The late political activist and U.S. congressman John Lewis coined the phrase “good trouble” to describe his civil disobedience in the 1960s. Others, who did not share his vision, considered his actions as merely “disturbing the peace.”  Speaker Details Kathryn Vaggalis   Love, Marriage, and Citizenship in the Early 20th Century America When exactly did the expectations about love and marriage become cemented in American society? Speaker Details Carmaletta Williams   Free Did Not Mean Welcome Discover how many realized that for Black people in Kansas “free” did not necessarily mean “welcome