The University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) Center for Digital and Public Humanities and the Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) request proposals for articles examining myriad social justice movements in Kansas City from the post-World War II era to the end of the 20th century.
Proposals for this multi-faceted partnership will be considered for inclusion as articles/chapters in one or both of the following outcomes: 1. An edited volume published by a university press; 2. A digital project that combines scholarship with archival sources, oral histories, biographies, and other relevant documents.
Suggested Themes and Topics
We welcome proposals that contextualize the methods and strategies of Kansas City’s social justice movements within national narratives and themes. Research topics should encompass political activism and community uplift on behalf of historically marginalized communities, including but not limited to women, Black Americans, Latinxs, LGBTQIA+ persons, working-class communities, or people with disabilities. How did diverse Kansas Citians challenge the status quo throughout the late-20th century? How is the Kansas City experience unique (or representative) when compared to social justice movements in the Midwest and nationwide? See the attached document for a list of suggested themes and topics.
The symposium welcomes submissions from Scholars, Researchers, Public Historians, Authors, Community Members, Kansas City Activists and/or their Descendants, Students, Artists, and Creative Writers.
Selected contributors for the edited volume will be required to attend a conference to workshop their papers in April 2026 and will present at a three-day public symposium in November 2026. (We will provide travel expenses for both the workshop and symposium). Selected website contributors will also be invited (optionally) to present their work at the public symposium. The project is modeled after previous collaborative and award-winning efforts, including the books Bleeding Kansas, Bleeding Missouri: The Long Civil War on the Border, Wide-Open Town: Kansas City in the Pendergast Era and websites, Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri Conflict, 1854-1865 and The Pendergast Years: Kansas City in the Jazz Age and Great Depression.
Submission Details:
Deadline: July 7, 2025
Format: A one-page abstract (500 words single-spaced) with working title; brief C.V. or resume.
Please address proposals and inquiries to: kcmc@umkc.edu. Be sure to put An Era of Rights in the subject line.
The edited volume and digital project are two projects supported by the Kansas City Monuments Coalition (KCMC), an effort funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Program.