Category: Arts and entertainment

KCK native leads effort to raise funds Aug. 17 for new roof on Quindaro museum

Producer Joe Macklin says he wants his son, Micah Macklin, to know the history of the Quindaro area of Kansas City, Kansas. That’s why he is leading an effort to raise funds for the Old Quindaro Museum at 3432 N. 29th St., Kansas City, Kansas. The museum needs a new roof. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
The Old Quindaro Museum, 3432 N. 29th St., Kansas City, Kansas, is raising funds for a new roof. (Staff photo)

by Mary Rupert

Joe Macklin recently toured the Old Quindaro Museum at 3432 N. 29th St., Kansas City, Kansas, and wondered why he hadn’t heard about local black history while he was growing up in Wyandotte County.

Macklin, a Grammy-nominated producer whose performing name is Jo Blaq, wants his young son and other youth to know the story of the early days of Quindaro, the people who figured in the town’s history and the legacy of the Underground Railroad here.

“We don’t know about our own history,” Macklin said. For his son and other young people, “I want them to know their history.”

A sign at the Old Quindaro Museum. Appointments are necessary to tour the museum at the current time. (Staff photo)

Quindaro, a pre-Civil War town on the Missouri River, was settled by Wyandot Indians, abolitionists, and African-Americans, and it’s important to learn about those who paved the way for today’s residents, he said.

A display at the Old Quindaro Museum details the Wyandot Nation and abolitionist history of the town. Anthony Hope, museum director, discussed the early history of the town. (Staff photo)

Quindaro was named after Quindaro Nancy Brown Guthrie, a member of the Wyandot Nation who married Abelard Guthrie, the founder of the town. Quindaro translates into “bundle of sticks,” which means “in unity there is strength.” In the past 50 years information has come to light about Quindaro’s role as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

One of the translations of Quindaro is “strength through unity.” (Staff photo)

When Macklin toured the museum, he said he learned a lot about local history.

“The thing that moved me most was some chains that slaves wore,” he said. “It made them hold their heads down. It moved me.”

Also, he said he was surprised to see a picture of one of his mentors, a captain in the Fire Department, in the museum.

A room in the Old Quindaro Museum is dedicated to black firefighters in Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

The Old Quindaro Museum currently needs a new roof in the worst way. In some areas, daylight can be seen through the roof. Inside the museum are artifacts and photos that tell the story of the early settlers of Quindaro, who included African-Americans, abolitionists and Wyandot Indians in the pre-Civil War era.

Producer Joe Macklin recently viewed places in the roof where work is needed. A fundraiser for a new roof will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Harrah’s Casino, North Kansas City, Missouri. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Macklin is producing a fundraiser show that will raise funds for the roof at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Voo-Doo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino, North Kansas City, Missouri. The Old Quindaro Museum will receive part of the proceeds from the show.

They have raised about $1,000 to start, Macklin said, with a goal of reaching about $3,000.

Macklin was introduced to Anthony Hope, the museum’s director, by Kathy Hanis of EPlus, a public relations firm. Hanis believes the story of old Quindaro needs to be told, and that Joe Macklin was someone who could help tell it and help the museum survive.

Volunteers continue a labor of love

On the grounds of the Old Quindaro Museum. (Staff photo)

The Old Quindaro Museum, the only African-American museum in Wyandotte County, has been a labor of love for Anthony Hope and his late brother, Jesse Hope. Both have given a considerable amount of time to starting the museum and keeping it running.

In existence about 12 years, it was Jesse Hope’s dream, and Anthony Hope stepped up after his brother’s death to continue the museum. The Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro, a not-for-profit, is the sponsor of the museum.

Anthony Hope pays the museum’s light bill out of his own pocket, which he says has been a strain at times. Still, he continues volunteering there, leading tours and mowing the lawn.

The city purchased the building for the museum, and after that, there has not been city funding, according to the volunteers.

The museum’s collection includes photos of early-day settlers of Quindaro and prominent residents of the area through the years.

A Western University wall is devoted to the history of the black college established in Quindaro in 1865 and continued through 1943.

Photos of Western University are displayed at the Old Quindaro Museum. (Staff photo)

Touring Old Quindaro

Anthony Hope and Corranzo Lewis give tours of the museum and the old Quindaro area by appointment, for a donation of $10.

The ruins of an old Quindaro brewery building are on a tour given by Anthony Hope. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
A spider’s web greeted visitors to the old brewery building. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

On the tour, visitors can see the museum, and then travel down Happy Hollow Road to view a partly ruined brewery building that was on the Underground Railroad.

Graves in the old Quindaro Cemetery date to the 1800s. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Then they may visit the old Quindaro Cemetery, high on a hill, where there is a view of the Missouri River.

One of the oldest homes in the area is Quindaro Nancy Brown’s home. (Staff photo)
The Quindaro Overlook provides visitors with a way to see the port area of Quindaro near the Missouri River. (Staff photo)

Hope and Lewis also will tell visitors about the oldest home in the area, Quindaro Nancy Brown’s home, and visitors may go to the Quindaro Overlook to view the old port and the Missouri River.

Also on the Quindaro tour is the John Brown statue at 29th and Sewell. (Staff photo)

The John Brown statue at 29th and Sewell also is on the tour. Erected in 1911, it is the oldest statue known of John Brown.

More fundraiser details

Performers at the show on Aug. 17 at Harrah’s Casino in North Kansas City, Missouri, will include Jo Blaq, host and artist; NowDaze; Kevin Chuch Boii Johnson; Kemet The Phantom; Mae C; and Eddie Moore.

For more information about the Old Quindaro Museum and ticket information for the fundraiser, visit https://www.facebook.com/ccoqmuseum/ or call
816-820-3615.

To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].

Two artists to exhibit works Saturday at Alcott

Two artists are scheduled to exhibit their works on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Alcott Arts Center, 180 S. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

Cheyenne Banda, a self-taught mixed media artist, will have a show in the Harrison Gallery at the Alcott. Her work includes mixed media and computer artwork, and she mashes it together in a colorful and thought-provoking way, said Chris Green, Alcott executive director. Banda’s art might be considered surreal.

Xavier Gayden works with watercolors on paper and has developed a unique style, Green said. His pictures tell a story, often from his life.

The galleries open at 6 p.m. Saturday and close at 8:30 p.m., with a reception for the artists at 6:30 p.m. There will be air-conditioning.

Green said the Alcott Arts Center also is gearing up for its Shakespeare production this year, which is a spin on the classic, “Two Gentlemen from Verona.” The Alcott’s production will be titled “Two People from Verona,” and it will include women in the cast.

The comedy will be performed at 3 p.m. Sept. 14-15 and Sept. 21-22. This year, the production will be indoors at the Alcott, and there will be air-conditioning, Green said. Chairs will be provided. Admission will be a suggested donation of $5.

The Alcott Arts Center is not ADA-accessible. For more information, call 913-233-2787 or visit https://www.alcottartscenter.org/.

Young New Century Jazz Band musicians learning from the best

Elite KCKCC-based band to perform Wednesday at Unity Temple on the Plaza

Former KCKCC Director of Bands Marlin Cooper was guest soloist at the first performance of the New Century Jazz Band at the Mason Jar Wednesday. The band is honoring Cooper for his legacy as one of the very first to teach jazz education at the college level in Kansas City. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

It’s true. Old musicians don’t fade away, they just keep playing.

In many cases, such as the New Century Jazz Band, they also give direction, experience and motivation to a new wave of up-and-coming jazz musicians at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

An elite group of musicians made up of KCKCC alumni, music educators and graduates and present and future students, the New Century Jazz Band will make its formal debut in “Spirituality and All That Jazz” series Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th. Held by well-known jazz icon Tim Whitmer, it’s the longest running jazz series featuring local jazz musicians.

Organized and directed by Jim Mair, KCKCC director of instrumental music, the band made its public debut Thursday night at the Mason Jar Restaurant at 94th just south of State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. The debut featured guest soloist and co-director Marlin Cooper, KCKCC’s instrumental band director for 27 years (1972-1999).

Director of Instrumental Studies at KCKCC Jim Mair has founded and directed the New Century Jazz Band, so named in preparation for KCKCC’s 100th birthday in 2023. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

“We chose the name New Century in preparation of KCKCC’s 100th birthday in 2023 and we’re featuring Marlin Cooper to honor his legacy as one of the very first educators at the college level teaching jazz education in Kansas City,” Mair said.

Mair is a veteran at organizing instrumental groups. His first community band organized shortly after his hiring at KCKCC in 1999 eventually evolved into the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, an elite orchestra he and his wife Mary headed until 2010 when they stepped aside to devote more time to their two children, Mandy and Jameson.

“With Mandy starting college at KCKCC where she’ll be singing with John Stafford’s choral groups and Jameson playing trumpet and drum set at Olathe Northwest, we figured it was time to start a community band, one that plays at the highest level possible, not one that plays just for fun,” Mair said. The response was almost overwhelming. “We have a waiting list; we started in June and have enough people for two bands. We’re trying to work out the logistics for two bands. It’s a good problem to have. It encourages everyone to get better and a great motivation for our incoming freshmen.”

Saxophonist Herschel McWilliams was one of a half-dozen KCKCC alums helping give direction and motivation to current and future KCKCC musicians as members of the New Century Jazz Band. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

Of the 21 members of the band, four are current students at KCKCC; five are or will be incoming freshmen; and six KCKCC alums. Herschel McWilliams II, a lead saxophonist who played for Cooper in the late 1990s, is the oldest alum. His father, Herschel Sr., also played in Cooper’s first band in 1973. Trombonist Karita Carter, the sister-in-law of KCKCC grad and Kansas City jazz legend Bobby Watson, could have been an alum. “I tried to recruit her but she went to Wichita State,” Cooper remembered.

Andres Reyes, who played drums when Cooper took the KCKCC Jazz Band to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1985, has two sons play in the hand – Andre Jr. who plays keyboard and drummer Antonio, a current KCKCC student. Other current students include Tm Keith, guitar; Densil Malabre, congas and percussion; and saxophonist Adam Bender, who is also an apprentice at BAC Music as an instrument repair technician.

Incoming freshmen include Evan West of Shawnee Mission North and Samantha Angel of Tonganoxie, trumpets; and Henry Fears of Shawnee Mission Northwest and Lucas Porterfield of Tonganoxie, trombones. A fifth, KCKCC Jazz Camp grad Asa Martin, is a senior at Shawnee Mission North and will enroll at KCKCC in 2020.

Alums include trumpeter Jon Tobaben, a recent grad entering the home health care profession; and bass Sean Phelps, who is employed in information technology by Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools. The band will be losing two saxophone alums, Rayvon Haggerty, who is finishing his music degree at Missouri Western University, and Richard Tucker who was recently hired by the Sweetwater Corp. and will be relocating in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Non-alums bring a wealth of talent. Saxophonist Michael Harris II is the band director at Washington High School while trombonist Sarah Braun is a UMKC grad and a substitute with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. From the trumpet section, Joe Sisco plays with the Fountain City Brass Band; Armando Gutierrez leads a mariachi band in Kansas City; and Daniel Dissmore is a recent graduate of Kansas State.

Mair also joins in on occasion. One of Kansas City’s top saxophone and clarinet players, Mair now performs with Tim Whitmer’s host band and with his son Jameson, who recently took first place as Downbeat magazine’s No. 1 middle school trumpet soloist in the nation.