Banking on KC – Dr. Carmaletta Williams of the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City
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Kelly Scanlon:
Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode is Dr. Carmaletta Williams, the CEO at the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City, just as our country prepares to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day next week and Black History Month in February. Welcome, Dr. Carma.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Thank you very much.
Kelly Scanlon:
It's so great to be talking with you again and have you back on Banking on KC. When I talked with you last year, you were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Black Archives. And again, congratulations, that's a huge milestone. But if you would, for our listeners who may not have caught that episode or just may not be familiar with the organization, take a minute to explain its purpose.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
The Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City is an amazing organization. Not only do we have a permanent exhibit with My Eyes No Longer Blind, which was taken from a Langston Hughes poem, but that exhibit talks about the building of Black Kansas City and those boots on the ground, those people who worked hard to bring visibility to Blackness. We also have Aunt Lucy's Cabin. Our founder, Horace Peterson, actually started collecting buttons and brochures when he was in middle school and telling his friends that he was going to start a Black museum. And in middle school they were going, "What? You're not making money? Why are you going to do that?" But he did, and he spent his life and dedicated... He died young, but dedicated his life.
Kelly Scanlon:
He eventually started working out of the trunk of the car with those items, didn't he?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
He did. He stored them in the trunk of his car. His mother owned Blackwells, used furniture and artifacts on 63rd Street. So he knew about collection and about recognizing the value. And he also did dumpster diving. There are wonderful stories. I didn't know him, but there are wonderful stories about him diving into the dumpster at the call paper and seeing what they threw away and abandoned houses to see what people had left. So he had it started this collection and he did a wonderful job. Our building, I consider the fifth plays for the Black Archives. The first was in the trunk of his car, then the second was in the YMCA on 18th and Paseo. That's now in the Buck O'Neill Cultural Center. Well, when that building became uninhabitable, then he rented an apartment. Then when they desegregated the firehouses in Kansas City, then the city let him get Firehouse number 11 on 22nd and Vine. So now we're at 1722, East 17th Terrace in the Historic 18th and Vine Jazz District.
Kelly Scanlon:
You're right in the heart of it.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
We are. We're six steps away from the Negro Leagues Museum, baseball Museum, and the American Jazz Museum. There's plenty of parking at the door. It's free and it's free to come in. And when you come in, you will see With My Eyes No Longer Blind. We also have Aunt Lucy's Cabin. Horace understood that there was a home where a formerly enslaved woman left and he asked the family, they said, "Yeah, you can have it." All of the artifacts there were taken from Lucy's house, and so you can go, you can see them.
And we also partnered with Equal Justice Initiative, the Just Mercy Folk with Bryan Stevenson. And right now we have the only exhibition outside of Montgomery, Alabama that's dedicated to victims of racial murder. So when you go to that part of the exhibit, you will see jars on the exhibit stands and young folks think they're ashes. They're not people's ashes. But what we do is we dig up dirt underneath where the bodies were hanging and we put them in the jars that have their names... Sorry, innocent victims 'cause these were innocent people. So we tell their stories and it got stark in that room so I put out a call for art. Art is always soothing, and several artists showed up and this young man came and I'm like, "Charlie," Charlie Swayve because he's young and hip. I said, "You're 20 years old. Why do you have all of these paintings of lynchings?" So we talked about the intergenerational effect of lynching and men, women and children were lynched, we're hanged.
So he has created this amazing piece. So we have that exhibit, and then we've also partnered in a sense with the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, and we have an exhibit dedicated to Cameron Lamb. And it's historic because it's the first time a white police officer has been convicted of killing a Black person. And Cameron's life is the one that we're honoring. So we have an exhibit to him. And the appeals court learned that we had that exhibit, and so they sent us their documents. So we have the legal documents from both court cases and the failed appeal there. So that's wonderful. And then we have this rotating gallery, and once a month or so we change the exhibits because we don't want it to be an I've already seen it kind of place.
Kelly Scanlon:
Sure, sure. Keep people coming back because history's not dead, it continues to live.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
You're absolutely right. And I tell young people who come that they're making history. History is now. So we rotate that gallery and we just took down an East Side street artist exhibit, amazing art, and now we're installing Civil Rights revolutionaries exhibit there from the sixties and seventies. So that'll be there for a month. We have the Women's Professional Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yes. That's an amazing exhibit.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
It is. I had a young man, well, Lightning Mitchell come into my office and said that women's professional basketball started in Kansas City, and I told him I ran a museum, I need proof. So he had boxes and boxes of proof and what his proof was that spring and summer league basketball started in Kansas City. So I said, "It's beautiful idea. We don't have the money to put the exhibit up." So he actually had the panels made, and then once they got up, it's like it doesn't look finished. So our facilities' manager, Jason Williams has a friend who sewed lumber. So he donated the lumber and then we paid somebody who finished it all. So it looks like a basketball court. When we had our opening, we had some women who were former professional basketball players. They said, "This is great, but you don't tell the whole story." So they created the panels and gave them to us, shipped them to us. So now we tell the complete story of women's professional basketball.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh, that's interesting.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
And then we have the archives at the archives and we do have thousands and thousands of pictures and documents and artifacts there. We have a great crew now in the back, as we call it, that are digitizing it. We have partnered with the Smithsonian, and so we will house our files also on their servers, so it'll have a broader reach and less expense for us. But these are stories. We have had researchers from actually all over the world. We have had Sweden and South Africa and China and all over the world that come to the archives because we have that special niche of what it's like to be Black in America.
Kelly Scanlon:
Speaking of the reach, my husband and I were in New York in Manhattan in late October, and we went to the Whitney Museum and saw the Alvin Ailey exhibit, and we were so excited to see that so many of the items there mentioned that they were on loan from the Black Archives of Mid-America. I mean, there were some of Alvin Ailey's personal papers and there were Duke Ellington memorabilia. It was really, really interesting to see that.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
It is exciting. We're really fortunate that Alan Gray inherited the Alvin Ailey estate and he houses it at the Black Archives. So they came here, they sent teams of folks, the Whitney folks did, and they did their research there and they decided which pieces that they wanted to include in the exhibit. I spent a lot of time looking at the exhibit, but I also spent more time clicking on the panels than mentioned the Black Archives. And we are really pleased and proud to be that place where people know that they can come, they can do research there, and they're going to find something. We don't buy anything. Every picture, every document, every artifact been donated. And that makes them extra special to us 'cause that tells us that these are the things, the artifacts that folks have identified as being a part of the creation of Black Americans.
Kelly Scanlon:
Exactly. Let's talk about Dr. Martin Luther King Day coming up here and in just a few days. How's the Black Archives preparing to celebrate King's legacy?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Well, we have been really fortunate. It's a great place to be because it's these wonderful community partnerships. And we have partnered with the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and they are bringing Percival Everett to Kansas City, and he is the author of James. And James is a number one bestseller. Everybody's number one bestseller. Barnes & Noble, Amazon. But this tells Huckleberry Finn's story from Jim's point of view. So we are really pleased and honored that UMKC has allowed us to be a partner in this venture with them.
Kelly Scanlon:
What date is that?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
I think it's the 26th of January.
Kelly Scanlon:
So just around the corner here?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Yes.
Kelly Scanlon:
And that's going to be held at UMKC?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Yes, yes, yes.
Kelly Scanlon:
I also mentioned that it's Black History Month coming up in February. This year's theme is African-Americans and Labor, and I was hoping that you could give us some insights into African-Americans, their workforce contributions and the pivotal role that has played in shaping America's history.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
You can't talk about the growth of America without talking about the role of Black people, and that's from the first steps on Dice Park. So from our very first steps here, we have worked to create this country. And a lot of that recognition, certainly the finances weren't given to Black folk. They weren't given to the enslaved people. And remember, there were Black people here before, people of African descent here before the official opening of the slave trade. People of African descent have always contributed to the building of America.
And so I think that's what makes this exciting is that we make sure that we acknowledge it. We know about the greats, but there are so many people whose lives and contributions haven't been acknowledged. They certainly weren't acknowledged financially, but even historically, they were low riders. They were under the covers for the most part, and somebody else, someone who owned them or someone who just took the credit for their work I'd acknowledged. So it's exciting. Most of the things that we take for granted were created by Black folk. When we think about the iron lung, for example, and in the days before modern science, when we were struggling to keep people alive who had lung diseases, that was created by Carter.
Kelly Scanlon:
There's been this increase in Black owned businesses over the years. What's so interesting about that is that often business ownership is one of the keys to generational wealth, and it reminds me of 1920s maybe in Tulsa. They had a very rich and thriving black owned business community that was pretty renowned, and then it was burned down. What excites me is the number of businesses that are being established and also by Black women. Actually, it's Black women that are outpacing everyone.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
That is exciting. You know at emancipation, those folks who walked off from plantations had several goals. One of the primary goals was to own their own land. If they own their own land, then they were in control of their own destinies. So that was a primary goal. You wouldn't be a sharecropper any longer. You would have your own way of making money. You wouldn't be enslaved in a longer just working for nothing. So that was a primary goal. Another one was to be educated and to have their children educated because then you couldn't be taken by false contracts and people would take your land, take everything that you had because you couldn't read the contract. So from those meager beginnings, then we see that growth. We see people growing, thriving, building businesses, but we also see them under threat. And when you refer to Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma-
Kelly Scanlon:
Black Wall Street, I couldn't think of the name exactly, but yes.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Well, that's exactly what happened there, because they were being successful, because they were making their own. We saw the Buy Black movement in the sixties and with that, and because black businesses were thriving, because they were supporting each other and putting their money in their own neighborhoods, then we saw neighborhoods being demolished. We saw redlining. We saw where I grew up on 55th Street, we saw a freeway supposedly coming through that didn't come to 30 years later. So those efforts, those early efforts were maligned and destroyed because they meant progress and they meant independence for people of blackness.
Now that we have some protection, not complete protection, but some protection under the law, people are venturing out again, 'cause this is a prime time to start your own, be your own boss. Use your creativities to your advantage. Make money that you get to keep. So it's exciting. And we have young folks who have meetings at the Black Archives all the time, and that's what they talk about, their own manifest destiny. How do they determine then what their future is going to be? So it's exciting and I'm excited by it. The community is excited by it because we see that growth and we know what that independence means. If you're not dependent on somebody, then you chart what your future's going to be. And that is something that has been long wished for and hoped for, and now is actually being achieved.
Kelly Scanlon:
One last point about Black History Month, something that launched a few years ago, it's your genealogy lab. And some people would say, "Okay, well that's just family." For Black Americans, especially, genealogy is important. So talk to us about the genealogy lab and its importance in relationship to Black History Month.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Oh yeah, thank you Country Club Bank for funding the purchase of our initial computers so the people can come there. It's not just genealogy if you're Black, because you have to remember the conditions of enslavement is that especially if your folks were enslaved in the south, there was a very real possibility that your families would be separated. Kentucky and Tennessee were the only two states in which multiple generations were actually born and raised on the same farms. But in the south, to be sold south meant not only that you would have tougher working conditions because you would be working in the heat, you would be working in the water and the mosquitoes and all of those things that meant a short lifespan, but it also meant that you could be sold at whim. What makes that especially difficult is that enslaved people didn't have last names.
One way to dehumanize people is not to let them know how old they are, so they didn't have birth dates. So it is a tenuous and a torturous journey to find those people that you may have been related to. So I hear some people say that they could trace their folks back to Africa, and I say, "Hooray." I don't really believe it unless they were in Kentucky or Tennessee, because we know the conditions of enslavement, which was actually predicated on dehumanization. And I have to think that because I have to believe in some innate goodness in folks, and I want to believe that you could not enslave people that you thought were people, and so that would be a reason to dehumanize them.
Otherwise it gets too sick and it gets too pitiful. So finding those folks then has become very important to people of African descent because you want to know where you're from, of course. So we like to honor people and try to take them as far as we can. We can find those histories, and people are excited when they do. We may not get people back to Africa, but we can get them to something solid. And my argument has always been that if people knew their history, their personal histories and the pride and the power that Black folk have, there wouldn't be so much Black [inaudible 00:17:50]. So that's my focus.
Kelly Scanlon:
What else do you have coming up at the Black Archives this year, in 2025
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
We have our annual Black History Month luncheon. It's going to be February 15th in Sweeney Auditorium at UMKC. This is an exciting time for us because we get to talk about blackness, and our theme this year is Embracing Blackness, Colin Tell the True Story. And so that's what we do. We invite people. Well, for a ticket, but we want people to come and hear this. We have had such amazing speakers. Kevin Willmott was our keynote last year. He's an amazing storyteller. So it was Dr. Jeff Ward from Washington University and Michael Herriot, who was our 50th anniversary speaker.
And they come and they tell the truth, and they tell it in a way that people can accept it and absorb it and know that it's the truth. So we don't do revisionist history. So that's the excitement of our luncheon. We have an elegant lunch. We have partners that come in and celebrate with us and with each other. It's an amazing place to come and meet people and mix and mingle and meet and greet and learn something while you're doing it. So please go to our website blackarchives.org and get a seat, get a ticket, or be a sponsor.
Kelly Scanlon:
And this date, it was what?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
February 15th?
Kelly Scanlon:
February 15th. So coming up a month from today. So you've got a little time, but not a whole lot because I've done events before and I know you need numbers as soon as you can get those,
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Absolutely. Our caterer would love to know those numbers, and we would love to know it. We want you to be comfortable. We want you to come and enjoy a wonderful afternoon.
Kelly Scanlon:
So in addition to supporting the organization through attendance at some of your events like the annual luncheon, how can listeners get involved or support the really important work that you do there at the Black Archives?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Well, we have some volunteers who come regularly. We don't have many of them, but we could use more. As I said earlier, we have thousands of documents that we need to be sorted and digitized and put into our system. We need Friends of the Black Archives, so go on online and become a friend or come in and visit and see what we do. We also-
Kelly Scanlon:
Do you have a coffee shop there?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
We have a coffee shop. We have a gift shop that features local artists, so they have a place to display and sell their works. We have cards, books, clothing, jewelry, beautiful jewelry and books, including some of my own, but from local writers. Alvin Brooks' book is there.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh yes, we've had him on the show too.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Yeah, the late Pella McDaniel. I actually published his last book, the Hemp Breakers, which is the story of his great-grandparents. It's a beautiful book. It's part narrative and part poetry. So we have books closed, so please come and we don't charge people to go through the exhibitions, but we do appreciate donations.
Kelly Scanlon:
Obviously appreciate donations. What are your hours?
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
We're open Monday through Friday from nine to five and weekends by appointment. But just call us and we'll be there if you're here on the weekend.
Kelly Scanlon:
Okay. Dr. Carma, thank you so much for being with us again. I think you've been here now a few times and it's always great. You always have something new to say in addition to reminding us of the overall mission. So thank you for taking the time to do that today and for all that you're doing for not just our community, but really from a global perspective, you are having an impact.
Dr. Carmaletta Williams:
Thank you so much. That makes my heart sing.
Joe Close:
This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Dr. Carmaletta Williams for being our guest. On this episode of Banking on KC Dr. Williams discussed how the work of the Black Archives of Mid-America preserves the stories and artifacts that illuminate black history, culture, and contributions. As we prepare to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in Observe Black History Month, her insights remind us of the importance of understanding our past to build a brighter, more inclusive future. At Country Club Bank, we celebrate the organizations and leaders that enrich our community and inspire meaningful conversations about history and progress, inspiring us to reflect, learn, and grow. We encourage you to discover more about these rich histories by attending the Black Archives Annual Luncheon on February 15th, or visiting the museum to explore its exhibits firsthand. Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on you, Kansas City Country Club Bank, member FDIC.