Special Exhibit - Redlined: Cities, Suburbs, and Segregation

REDLINED: CITIES, SUBURBS, SEGREGATION closed on January 7, 2023.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The community response to the REDLINED exhibit was astounding, with thousands of people visiting over the past year. The feedback from the public was overwhelmingly positive, with many visitors requesting that the exhibit become a permanent fixture.

We are happy to announce that our plan is to convert the in-person exhibit to a high-quality website that continues the deep-dive into this hard history.

We need your support to keep the momentum going. Your donation provides the resources needed to not only preserve the exhibit, but also give access to an even broader audience by providing a platform for further research and community convenings around the subject of redlining. Becoming a digital exhibit donor demonstrates your commitment to education around issues of equity that impact our community and beyond.

DONATE

Individual and corporate sponsorships are now available

Becoming a digital exhibit sponsor demonstrates your commitment to education around issues of equity that impact communities. In addition, your organization's brand will be linked to a nationally accreditated, award-winning museum, and prominently credited on the online platform, social media marketing and other promotional materials. As a REDLINED online exhibit sponsor you can enjoy exclusive access to the Johnson County Museum event invitations, rental opportunities, after-hours guided tours, complimentary admission passes, and more! Become an exhibit sponsor today.

EXHIBIT INFORMATION

REDLINED: CITIES, SUBURBS, SEGREGATION takes visitors on a deep dive into the history of redlining and how it both shaped and was shaped by Johnson County and the region. Visitors will learn about the 19th and 20th century foundations of redlining, how the private practice became federal policy during the Great Depression, the expansion of the practice during postwar suburbanization, attempts to dismantle the system during the Civil Rights Era, and how the legacies of redlining continue to impact communities around the nation today.

What is redlining?

Redlining refers to the systematic disinvestment of some neighborhoods and populations in favor of others, most often on the basis of race. This means that private industry and later the federal government chose to fund and support home purchases for white families and neighborhoods over African American families and other communities of color. Although the policy was outlawed with the passage of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, the legacies of the system continue to impact communities of color in our region and across the nation.

How was this exhibit made?

The exhibit is the product of hundreds of hours of staff research, utilizing over 120 books, scholarly articles, dissertations and newspaper articles, as well as thousands of primary source documents housed at regional and national archives.

What are some interesting features of the exhibit?

The exhibit contains more than 120 images, ten display cases with original objects and documents, and covers more than 2,000 square feet of wall space. Visitors will be moved by large-scale visualizations of redlining, restrictive covenants by neighborhood, and more.

As visitors explore, they will get to hear from members of previously redlined communities in a special video produced for this exhibit and see how life today mirrors boundaries created nearly a century ago in an interactive touchscreen exhibit.

The exhibit also features a micro-art exhibit featuring works related to the history and legacies of redlining from the African American Artists Collective. Art has the remarkable ability to communicate where words sometimes fail. It also allows us to process our feelings, experiences, and connect us through our common humanity. Artists with AAAC created pieces in response to the topic of redlining. Their works provide moments to reflect on the historical content provided in the exhibit.

Bring the exhibit home with you!

Is there a hashtag?

Of course! Use #RedlinedKC to join in the conversation.

PAST PROGRAMMING

Programs at both the Johnson County Museum and nearly a dozen sites around the Greater Kansas City area complemented this exhibit.

JOHNSON COUNTY MUSEUM PROGRAMMING

February 19, 2022 - A Raisin in the Sun and the Legacy of Redlining, an interdisciplinary fieldtrip for adults.

February 24, 2022 - Free Did Not Mean Welcome, program by Dr. Carmaletta Williams of the Black Archives of Mid- America, in partnership with the Johnson County Library. Watch the recording through Johnson County Library's "The Past is Prologue" OnDemand.

April 7, 2022 - J.C. Nichols and Community Building, program by Dr. Bill Worley.

June 11, 2022 - Jazz Storytelling at the Juneteenth Celebration at JoCoAHC.

July 13, 2022 - 1863/1963: When Freedom Changed America, program by Dr. Edgar Tidwell of KU.

August 17, 2022 - Redlining: A History, program by Johnson County Museum staff. Learn an overview of the system of redlining and how the REDLINED exhibit was created.

September 15, 2022 - Legacies of Redlining: Blue River Watershed, a panel discussion in partnership with the Parks and Recreation Foundation of Johnson County and Blue River Collaborative. Watch the recording here!

September 29, 2022 - Once Upon an Artifact, join professors as they share research and topics related to JoCoMuseum artifacts. In collaboration with Johnson County Community College.

October 19, 2022 - Legacies of Redlining: Social Determinants of Health, a panel discussion in partnership with JoCoDHE, UCS, and Health Forward. Watch the recording here!

November 30, 2022 - Freedom to Discriminate, a virtual presentation from Gene Slater, author of the book Freedom to Discriminate: How the Real Estate Industry Segregated America. Watch the recording here!

December 3, 2022 - A Raisin in the Sun and the Legacy of Redlining, an interdisciplinary fieldtrip for adults.

PARTNER PROGRAMMING

Past programming from these partners:

Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City, Missouri - I Am A Man - Photo Exhibit - this free exhibit explores the Civil Rights Movement through photography. Exhibit through Mid-America Arts Alliance. On display, free of charge, Nov. 17, 2022 - Jan. 7, 2023. Learn more here

Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City, Missouri - Annual Black History Month Luncheon - February 19, “Reparations and Restitution of Black Wealth.”

Johnson County Library - July 7, Dividing Lines Tour for “Past is Prologue” series. Online program.

Kansas City, Kansas Public Library - February 17, Author talk with Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law (with Read Along at noon each Wednesday). Watch the recording here!

Kansas City Public Library - August 24, with Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, a program highlighting artist Desiree Kelly's "'The Nine' and Other Works," an exhibit of portraits of Black baseball players from the Negro Leagues, then on display at Kansas City Public Library - Central Branch.

Kansas Studies Institute at Johnson County Community College - Thomas Johnson and Johnson County, presentation by Dr. Kevin Abing (Oct. 4, 2021). Recording available to view.

Kansas Studies Institute at Johnson County Community College - Wyandot in Kansas: Past is Prologue to Redlining, presentation by John Nichols, in partnership with KCKPL (Nov. 16, 2021). Recording available to view

Kansas Studies Institute at Johnson County Community College - Oct. 24, 2022 at 12:00pm in JCCC OCB 100, African Americans in Salina: Kansas During Segregation, presentation by Marie D. Johnson. Public is welcome. Click here for details.

Missouri Historical Society – Virtual Exhibition: #1 in Civil Rights: The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis, the exhibit examines the local civil rights movement and the city’s leading role in advancing the cause of racial justice. View the exhibit online for free (ongoing). Visit here

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum – Sept. 1, a free virtual panel discussion featuring Jackie Robinson scholars to mark the 75th anniversary of Robinson joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. Watch this free program on the NLBM's YouTube channel. Watch here

National World War I Museum & Memorial - Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, a special exhibit that provides more context for the Black experience as the system of redlining was developing. Exhibit closed Sept. 18.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - A Frame of Mind, a five-episode podcast that takes a hard look at race in America through the lens of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Episode two explores the neighborhoods around the museum and why Kansas City and the Nelson-Atkins look the way they do (ongoing). Listen here

Shawnee Town 1929 - April 20, Invisible lines: Real Estate and Redlining in Kansas City, presentation by curator Andrew R. Gustafson.

St. Joseph Museum and Black Archives Museum - tour the Black Archives Museum and learn about the history of redlining in St. Joseph, Missouri. Contact the St. Joseph Museums to set up a tour appointment.

University of Central Missouri, American Democracy Project - Sept. 20, Redlining: A History, presentation by curator Andrew R. Gustafson.

UMKC History Department – Oct. 20, Dr. Sheryll Cashin, author of White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality, joined professors from UMKC for a conversation about redlining and the community today. Watch the recording here!

Watkins Museum of History – Familiar Faces: The Gary Davis Photo Collection exhibition, on display May 6 - November 4, 2022. Learn more

Watkins Museum of History - March 14, Film and Community: An Online Conversation with Kevin Wilmott.

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

A Raisin in the Sun and the Legacy of Redlining - Virtual Field Trip Kit

This one-of-a-kind experience takes students through the topic of redlining and housing inequity through an examination of literature, theater, history, and fine art. Students will engage in inquiry-based lessons that promotes critical thinking, discussion, and a deeper understanding of our community.

This inter-disciplinary field trip kit brings the topic of redlining into your classroom in a customizable format that includes physical and digital materials, guides, and standards to align with your curriculum.

Grade level: Middle or High School
Length: 2-week rental
Cost: $20

The kit includes:

Printed student guides
Raisin in the Sun books
Filmed scenes from the play
Filmed tour of the Redlined exhibit
Primary Source packets & worksheets
Fine art supplies
Teacher guide

The kit includes supplies and digital resources for one class, or 25 students. For additional supplies, please contact us in advance to arrange. The kit must be picked up and dropped off at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center during regular business hours.

We are able to offer this experience at a low cost thanks to the generous funding of Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area.

To book the field trip kit, fill out this FORM.

Lessons and Resources

Redlining and Community Boundaries – Johnson County Museum

Redlining in New Deal America – Mapping Inequality

How Red Lines Built White Wealth: A Lesson on Housing Segregation in the 20th Century

Redlining Resources - BUNK

The Shelleys & the Right to Fair Housing - iCivics

RESOURCES

Books

Tanner Colby, Some of My Best Friends are Black
Kevin Fox Gotham, Race, Real Estate, and Uneven Development in Kansas City, Missouri
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law
Gene Slater, Freedom to Discriminate: How Realtors Conspired to Segregate Housing and Divide America

Video

History, Housing, and Health Video: created in partnership with the Johnson County Museum, Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, and United Community Services, this video explores the legacies of redlining and disparities in social determinants of health.

Online Resources

JoCoHistory Blog post by the Johnson County Museum about J.C. Nichols.

JoCoHistory Blog post by the Johnson County Museum about the FHA mortgage program.

JoCoHistory Blog post by the Johnson County Museum about the difference between restricted and redlined status.

JoCoHistory Blog post by the Johnson County Museum about civil rights efforts for integration and fair housing.

Segregated by Design: A short video made from Richard Rothstein’s book, The Color of Law.

Mapping Inequality digital project: interactive redlining maps for cities across the nation, including Kansas City’s own 1939 Residential Security Map.

Not Even Past digital project: compares redlining maps from the 1930s to social vulnerability maps today.

Smithsonian Magazine article about the Great Migration and America’s changing cities in the early- to mid-20th century.

Dividing Lines Tour - Johnson County Library's driving tour (and a clickable version for at home) through the history of redlining in the Greater Kansas City area.

FEEDBACK

We want to hear from you! Share your feedback on the exhibit and provide suggestions on future exhibits.