Articles

Henry Ossawa Tanner is recognized as the first African American artist to gain international fame. During his career, he deftly combined the painting styles of predominantly white academic artists with those of the thriving Black artistic communities of Kansas City.

Melvin B. Tolson became the first Poet Laureate of the Republic of Liberia. Born in Moberly, Missouri, Tolson spent his junior and senior years at Kansas City’s Lincoln High School.