KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A decade-long partnership in Kansas City is lifting up local stories of Black community-building and struggles for justice and equity, during and beyond Black History Month.

The Kansas City Public Library, the Black Archives of Mid-America and the Kansas City Local Investment Commission (LINC) have produced a book of stories collected over a decade.

Dr. Carmaletta Williams, executive director for the Black Archives of Mid-America, wrote in an introductory essay of when "Black Kansas Citians sat up, sat in, kicked down doors, and broke through glass ceilings," from obtaining civil and human rights and educations for their children, to health care and fire and police protection.

"We're living in what has traditionally been a black history drought," Williams explained. "So this then gives a boost to illuminating the life and culture and history of Black people in this area."

Williams added the stories of people such as her grandparents, who didn't make it into the history books but helped create the vibrant Black community where she grew up, are the types of stories the project strives to tell.

Brent Schondelmeyer, deputy director for community engagement at LINC, a community partnership affiliated with the Missouri Family and Community Trust, said the book spans almost two centuries, and tells the stories of Kansas City's Black educators, entrepreneurs, journalists, writers, politicians and more over time.

"Black History is our country's history, is our community's histories," Schondelmeyer asserted. "And it happens not just in February; it happens every day of the week."

Glenn North, executive director for the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center and poet laureate of the 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District, was commissioned to write a poem, called "I Sing Their Names."

North detailed what he calls his origin story, the events that brought his grandparents, both educators, to Kansas City.

"Perhaps that is why I love this city more than it loves me," North remarked. "Still proud to say it's where I'm from because I know who came before me. My feet are firmly planted on their shoulders. Those who shine brightly beyond February right into eternity."


get more stories like this via email

Massachusetts residents are being asked to step up, just as they did five years ago, to help their fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.

The Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund raised more than $4 million after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017. But government dysfunction, and the immense structural damage from the storm, allowed many of the donated goods to go to waste.

Aixa Beauchamp, co-founder of the Latino Equity Fund and Mass United Fund for Puerto Rico at the Boston Foundation who helped lead fundraising efforts following Maria, said this time, relief organizations are using their knowledge and experience from the previous storm and are better equipped to help those in need.

"The best way to help the island is through the current nonprofits that we already have," Beauchamp emphasized. "Who've been institutional partners for many, many years there on the island, and really know how to get support to the island."

She pointed out the need is great. More than a week after Hurricane Fiona made landfall, hundreds of thousands of people remain without water or electricity. Roads are washed out, many schools are closed and families remain in shelters.

A list of nonprofits is on the Boston Foundation's website. Some are focusing on schools, while others are working with small businesses flooded in hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

Beauchamp noted Puerto Rican families are exhausted, and she is confident people in Massachusetts will donate what they can.

"This is a generous state," Beauchamp asserted. "It has the third-largest Puerto Rican community, so I am hoping and banking on the generosity of Massachusetts residents."

President Joe Biden has said the federal government would fully cover the cost of relief efforts in Puerto Rico for the next month, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested the use of Community Block Grants to train workers on the island to repair infrastructure damage.

Meanwhile, local agencies are working tirelessly to feed and shelter families in need.

If you dial 911, it is more than likely a volunteer firefighter will respond to your emergency, but in Massachusetts, there are not enough volunteers.

More than half the 360 fire departments in the Bay State are volunteer-run, and rarely do they fight actual fires. Most calls are for medical emergencies, and they also respond to floods, car accidents and even hazardous waste spills.

As climate change brings more extreme weather, firefighters can spend days or even weeks in rescue and recovery efforts.

Joe Maruca, fire chief in West Barnstable, said it puts a great strain on volunteer crews.

"Even our department, with 40 volunteers, sounds big, but it's only just about the right size," Maruca explained. "We would struggle on day three or day four of an event to be able to rotate people into the incident and sustain ourselves."

Many fire departments still rely on word-of-mouth, open-house events and old-fashioned door knocking to recruit volunteers. They are also increasing their social media presence and working to interest high school students, who might consider a two-year certification program rather than leaving town to get a four-year college degree.

Maruca pointed out the amount of training required to become a volunteer firefighter and maintain the certification prohibits many people from signing up. But he emphasized there are other ways volunteers can support their local fire departments not involving emergencies.

"They help us with truck maintenance, and they help us with training, and they help us with human resource work," Maruca outlined. "There's all kinds of things they can do. We have people that help teach CPR classes to the community."

Some local governments offer volunteers a financial stipend for their training hours or on-call hours.

Sarah Lee, CEO of the National Volunteer Fire Council, said such incentives are needed, as the lack of volunteers is forcing many departments to pool their resources and cover larger geographic areas.

"These small, rural communities are relying on volunteers to respond, and if they don't have enough people, then the response time is going to be even longer," Lee stressed. "It's really important that they get people that want to step up and give back to their community."

A Baltimore elementary school is getting a helping hand this week from folks who haven't been elementary students in quite a while.

The community garden and outdoor classroom at James McHenry Elementary School in Baltimore is getting a major refresh tomorrow, as about 30 volunteers gather to fix it up. Volunteers from a group called Out Teach and AARP Maryland teamed up to create the project in 2018, and have helped to maintain it alongside the students and staff ever since.

Jen Holz, associate state director for outreach at AARP Maryland, said since the pandemic began, the space has been neglected.

"Folks were not in the schools, and it was subjected to vandalism and just general wear and tear," Holz observed. "We're going back, and we're going to add some new features like a flagstone pathway, some birdhouses, some cool educational features for the kids."

AARP volunteers were already helping out at McHenry Elementary, and Holz said it has become a place where inner city kids and older people can connect, which decreases isolation for the seniors while teaching the students about nature. AARP Maryland set aside $10,000 to restore the garden.

Holz noted the project is part of AARP's Livable Communities initiative, which supports efforts to promote better communities through access to health care and employment, multigenerational activity and civic engagement.

"It was really meant to create an accessible space for people of all ages," Holz explained. "AARP, on the very local level, is continuing to support livability."

She added the initial project cost about $40,000 and transformed what had been a trash-strewn, empty lot into a vibrant community space.