Race Project KC started as an annual immersive social justice initiative for students in grades 9 through 12 in the Kansas City metro area. Established by Johnson County Library, Race Project KC emerged after Tanner Colby's 2014 visits to our area to talk about his book Some of My Best Friends are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America. Local educators and Library staff were inspired to develop experiences for area teens. The program’s goal has been to help students cross dividing lines, build connections, and better understand each other and our shared history through the lens of race.
In the years 2015-2022, our focus was workshops for high school students. We have always wanted to do more, and our community has always desired more—to include more schools and more experiences, not just for high schoolers, but for all ages. We paused all activities for the 2022-2023 school year to take time to lay the foundation for this new growth.
We are now launching the next phase of building an expanded Race Project KC with your help. Johnson County Library has spearheaded the formation of a team to begin the work of reshaping Race Project KC. We are excited to announce a partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to explore the future of Race Project KC and how we can grow our capacity. Our first goal is to create an Advisory Committee who will steer this next iteration of the initiative.
Later this month, we’ll put out a call for candidates for the Advisory Committee. You can watch for that announcement and other ways to become involved here:
- Subscribe to the Race Project KC Newsletter
- Follow Race Project KC on Instagram
- Bookmark RaceProjectKC.org
If you have any questions or ideas to share please contact Race Project KC at jcl-raceproject@jocogov.org.