'Kansans Tell Their Stories' exhibit to visit Fort Scott

Saturday, January 23, 2010
The Kansas Humanities Council's "Kansans Tell Their Stories" exhibit will be available for viewing starting Monday in the Fort Scott Community College Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. The exhibit includes "The Buried Roots of African-American History in Fort Scott, Kansas," a project conducted in 2006-'07 to uncover buried African-American history in Fort Scott. --submitted photos The Kansas Humanities Council's "Kansans Tell Their Stories" exhibit will be available for viewing starting Monday in the Fort Scott Community College Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. The exhibit includes "The Buried Roots of African-American History in Fort Scott, Kansas," a project conducted in 2006-'07 to uncover buried African-American history in Fort Scott.

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- A Fort Scott project is part of a traveling exhibit that will make a stop in Fort Scott next week during its statewide tour.

Starting Monday and continuing through March 5, Fort Scott Community College will host the "Kansans Tell Their Stories" exhibit in the Charlotte and Ken Lunt Lobby of the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center, 2108 S. Horton St. The exhibit highlights eight Kansas stories collected as part of the Kansas Humanities Council's "Kansans Tell Their Stories" initiative.

The Fort Scott project, titled "The Buried Roots of African-American History in Fort Scott, Kansas," was funded by the KHC and conducted in 2006-'07. A grant committee conducted basic research and recorded oral histories to develop a DVD and a printed booklet that helped present the rich cultural heritage of the African-American community in Fort Scott.

Retired FSCC instructor Sandra Dudley was the director of the project, in which several local residents attempted to uncover buried African-American history in Fort Scott.

Also included in the exhibit are stories about the Orphan Trains in Kansas; Garden City's Vietnamese community; Topeka's Mexican community and the railroad; Volga-German heritage in Collyer; African immigrants in northeast Kansas; Shawnee's Belgian community; and Wichita's El Huerache neighborhood.

For five years, the KHC has supported special projects that have explored what it means to be a Kansas resident.

Many projects, like those in the exhibit, involved conducting oral histories to preserve the daily lives of early settlers and immigrants, as well as researching community heritage and history and bringing to light the struggles and triumphs of those who claim Kansas as their own.

"These stories from across the state were researched and written by local community organizations," KHC Executive Director Julie Mulvihill said. "Together, they inspire curiosity about our past and really get us thinking about our own histories."

The "Kansans Tell Their Stories" project is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Kansas. Since 2004, the initiative has encouraged Kansas residents to make a more thorough examination of the state's history and its impact on today's citizens.

The KHC conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansas residents to participate in their communities. For more information, contact KHC at (785) 357-0359 or visit the organization's Web site at www.kansashumanities.org.

The fine arts center will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and individuals and groups may visit the exhibit during these times. The booklet and DVD for the Fort Scott project will be available for purchase while the exhibit is displayed at FSCC.

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