National Archives at Kansas City

National Archives at Kansas City to host Documented Rights exhibition, featuring historic documents and photographs related to civil rights

For More Information Contact:
Dee Harris, 816-268-8086

Kansas City, (MO)…On November 2, the National Archives at Kansas City will open Documented Rights, an exhibition featuring documents from the holdings of the 13 regional National Archives facilities that give a voice to the national struggle for human and civil rights. It features more than 80 documents, facsimiles, images and sound recordings, including:

Documents from the five court cases that comprised Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that ended school segregation;
The story of the schooner Amistad, the revolt of 53 enslaved Africans, told through 1839 court records;
Slave compensation files from former slave owners seeking monies from the U.S. government after the Civil War;
Court records for John Elk v. Charles Wilkins and Standing Bear v. General George Crook, two cases focusing on the civil rights and liberties of Native Americans;
Petition from relocated Aleuts during WWII, protesting their poor living conditions, which ultimately resulted in a 10% death rate;
Booklet outlining nonviolent protest of racial segregation by Martin Luther King; and
A court martial order for Second Lt. Jackie Robinson who refused to move to the back of the bus on a military post.

Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our rights as citizens of the United States have been debated, contested, amended, and documented. Documented Rights features a selection of documents from the National Archives that give voice to our national struggle for personal rights and freedoms. Exhibition Curator Lisa Royse states: "The National Archives has a wealth of records on human and civil rights. This exhibit contains just a sampling of the many stories of personal struggles and moral victories to be found in the documents of the National Archives."

Additional Information

Documented Rights will be available for viewing at the National Archives at Kansas City, November 2, 2010 - March 19, 2011. To schedule group tour or for additional information call 816-268-8000 or visit our web site. See more information about Documented Rights online.

The National Archives at Kansas City is one of 13 facilities nationwide where the public has access to Federal archival records. It is home to more than 50,000 cubic feet of historical records dating from the 1820s to the 1990s created or received by nearly 100 Federal agencies. Serving the Central Plains Region, the archives holds records from the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The facility is located at 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108. It is open to the public Tuesday - Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for research, with the exhibits open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 816-268-8000 or visit us online.

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NREKA 11-03

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