Race Project KC is on Sabbatical for the 2022-23 school year.
This year, RPKC is stepping into new territory to initiate a change that will allow us to grow into something bigger and better.
Since the start of Race Project KC in 2015, we have grown every year to include more schools, workshops, speakers, and students. At the same time, we have felt frustrated every year by limitations that have kept us from involving more students and offering additional events; we have never been able to keep up with the community’s interest in what we do.
As we look towards the future, we find ourselves once again considering the need to include more schools, students, and experiences. With this in mind, we are going to take an intentional turn inward. We are excited to announce a partnership with the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce during the next year to explore the future of Race Project KC and how we can grow our capacity. Our goal will be to transition Race Project KC from a library-led initiative to a community-led initiative.
To make space for these important conversations, we are going to pause all workshops and the Symposium for the 2022-2023 school year. We'll use this time to invite the community to the table to help shape the future of this initiative. This is an opportunity for us to bring our network together to collectively envision a future that is inclusive, sustainable, and enriching for all. Keep watching this space for announcements.
We anticipate that taking this time off to focus on the future will help us extend our reach to a greater audience and impact far more students than our previous structure has allowed.
If you are interesetd in being a part of these conversations please reach out to the Race Project KC team at our Contact Us tab.
Race Project KC is an annual immersive social justice initiative for students in grades 9 through 12 in the Kansas City metro area. Established by Johnson County Library and evoked by the book Some of My Best Friends are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America by author Tanner Colby, the program’s goal is to help participating students build connections by better understanding each other and our shared history through the lens of race.
During this hiatus, we invite you to make use of the opportunities available on this website.
Dividing Lines Segregation Tours - Our initiating event has grown and improved every year, and multiple options now exist for you to participate in the experience on your own.
Resources - We have a page dedicated to booklists and links to curricula, agencies, and other resources you can use to build your knowledge and create your own events.
Newsletter - We send out periodic updates about our current happenings and highlight some especially good resources, articles, events, and organizations. This will be the best way to receive news about our growth process for the next year.
We will be updating and expanding these offerings over the course of the year.
The short video below was created at our culminating symposium in April 2019 and is a great introduction to what we do.
