​​Learn the History That Shaped Kansas City

Kansas City remains one of the most segregated cities in America, with Troost Avenue running north and south through the heart of the city as its most visible dividing line. The Dividing Lines Tour, originally designed by Johnson County Library staff, guides participants through the history of segregation, shedding light on the governmental policies and individual actions that decimated Black neighborhoods all over the United States. 

The tour journeys through neighborhoods considered the crown jewels of the metropolitan area alongside neighborhoods that fell victim to redlining, blockbusting, and white flight. The contrast is intentional. These policies weren't abstract — they determined who built wealth and who was shut out of it:
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  • White families received low-interest mortgages and access to appreciating neighborhoods
  • Black families were denied loans or offered higher rates, inflated fees, and terms designed to fail
  • Massive wealth accumulation occurred through homeownership in white neighborhoods, still visible today

Students in Race Project KC experienced this tour as one of their core program events. After just one tour, participants show a knowledge shift from 23% to 82% on understanding how segregation shaped Kansas City. The tour is also available to community groups, educators, and organizations that want to bring this experience to their teams.

Experience the Tour Your Way
Each format tells a different version of the same story, emphasizing different facts and sights. It is not repetitive to experience them all.
Book a Group Experience
Ready to bring the Dividing Lines Tour to your school, company, or community group? 
  • Book a bus — DS Bus Lines provides charter services for groups of all sizes and can support school, corporate, nonprofit, and community bookings. More Info Here
  • Book a tour guide — A trained Race Project KC Dividing Lines Tour Guide can lead your group through the experience. Contact us at [email protected] to arrange.

Click here to learn more about the tour from the Johnson County Library.
Go Deeper
Want to explore the history behind the tour on your own? These resources bring the maps and policies to life:
Related Videos
  • The Truth About Troost - Made by Race Project KC students - "Troost is a place where people in Kansas City don't go, unless you live there. Tanner Colby, author of Some of My Best Friends Are Black, gives an in-depth explanation of why segregation in the housing industry in Kansas City has portrayed Troost as a dividing line between the middle class and poverty, white and black people, and what needs to be done to integrate communities not only surrounding Kansas City, but in other major cities that still deal with racial segregation."
  • Building the Troost Wall: Structural Racism in Kansas City - Featuring Nathaniel Bozarth, narrator of the Dividing Lines app tour - "For Challenge 6, 'Get Uncomfortable,' I decided to go to KC and eat at a fancy place on the Plaza (uncomfortable for me) and then walk with Nathaniel Bozarth to a place on Prospect Ave for a second meal (even more uncomfortable). Along the way, we explore the making of the Troost Wall and the history of structural racism in KC."
  • Land of Opportunity - Kansas City PBS special telling the story of integration in the Santa Fe Place neighborhood as one example in the fight for housing rights across America following the Great Depression.
  • The Disturbing History of the Suburbs - An episode of the Adam Ruins Everything series that succinctly presents the history of redlining and discriminatory housing practices and how they created the segregated world we have today, including segregated schools.
  • Government Redlining - An introduction to the real estate and lending practices that led to the segregation of U.S. neighborhoods.
  • The Road of Resistance - 71 Highway - Inspired by Richard Rothstein’s ‘The Color of Law,’ this film focuses on Kansas City’s Highway 71 project and reveals how the city’s urban renewal efforts displaced 10,000 families. Land of Opportunity: The Road of Resistance explores the impact of real estate and federal policies on urban communities.
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