What if the streets we drive every day could tell us something about the history that shaped our city?
Kansas City is a city rich in beauty, diversity, and community; but it is also a city shaped by historic divisions of race, neighborhood, opportunity, and access.
The Dividing Lines Tour invites you to step onto a bus and travel through Kansas City’s history, exploring the places and policies that helped shape the communities we know today.
Beginning in the Kansas City suburbs and traveling through historic neighborhoods and corridors, this 90-minute guided experience will explore how decisions around housing, development, segregation, and integration impacted generations of Kansas Citians.
Along the way, we’ll visit and learn about places including Mission Hills, Ward Parkway, Troost Avenue, The Paseo, Blue Hills, Central High School, and the Ivanhoe neighborhood. Participants will hear stories and historical context surrounding racial deed covenants, redlining, blockbusting, white flight, school integration, and the lasting impact of these patterns on our city.
This experience isn’t simply about looking back; it’s an invitation to listen, learn, ask questions, and consider how the history of our city continues to shape the communities we live in today.
At Unite KC, we believe understanding our shared history is an important step toward building a more united Kansas City. When we are willing to learn from the past and see one another’s stories with greater understanding, we can begin to build bridges across the lines that have divided us.
Come experience the history. Hear the stories. See the city differently.
Space is limited – register by October 21st to reserve your spot.
Cost: $10