Concerned Citizens For Old Quindaro Museum

Call Directions Website Contact the museum

Concerned Citizens For Old Quindaro Museum Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Quindaro’s rich history. This triggered an alarm throughout the entire community.

Through the Old Quindaro Museum, we honor the families who built this historic community through preservation, education, and descendant-led storytelling. OUR HISTORY


In 1982, an anonymous letter was sent to all property and landowners in the township known as the Old Quindaro community. It expressed a desire for a "Special Use" permit to be issued to Browning Ferris Industries to build and operate a sanitary landfill. During this period, it was discovered that a Landmark Commission meeting was to be held in order to approve the "Special Use" permit. The community responded to this meeting en masse, and outnumbered the usual attendees by over twenty to one. The attendance was so overwhelming that the "Special Use" permit was tabled to a later meeting. In 1983, the Landmark Commission relented and finally failed to approve the permit. However, the Kansas City, Kansas Commission, consisting of the Mayor and two other commissioners, approved the permit. At that point, a group of neighborhood residents met to discuss the problem facing their community. This meeting ultimately spawned "The Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro". At that time a board was formed that was eventually recognized as the original "Board of Directors" for The Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro. The members were Jesse Hope, Chairman, Accie Taylor, Vice Chairman, J.C. Clark, Secretary, and Kay Moore, Treasurer. This group along with several other community members has evolved into the group that survives today. Fundraisers were given in order to generate revenue, and ultimately enough was raised to retain an attorney, Grover Hankins, of The Basil North Law Firm. The attorney then filed a lawsuit against the city of Kansas City, Kansas, alleging they were arbitrary and capricious in their decision to grant the "Special Use" permit, and it was totally unfair to the people of Quindaro. During this time, the group was also able to establish Quindaro as an historical district. The subsequent trial, that was held in 1982, was lost by the petitioners, but provided an archeological study in 1984 that unearthed the footings of the original "Quindaro Township". This enabled the group to protect certain areas, such as Quindaro Park, the cemetery, the ruins and other outlying properties. The findings also caused many other groups to be formed who ultimately became significantly involved in this effort. Today, this group has been instrumental in establishing the "Abandoned Cemetery Act", as well as not only thwarting the landfill, but also helping to identify a significant portion of the original township as an historical district, refurbishing the cemetery as well as adding an historical marker and a committal plaza to the project. To help eliminate illegal dumping in the area a gate was put up in 1982 by the Concerned Citizens, designed and manufactured by the late Archie Lyons. This effort has helped to maintain and preserve the original landscape as it existed even before it was settled in the 1850's. This effort by a small group of citizens determined to not allow their neighborhood to be turned into a trash dump is proof that you must remain committed to ideas and projects that are significant to the preservation, historical and cultural awareness, educational value and overall importance of the African American Community of Quindaro to the history and evolutionary development of Kansas as well as the United States of America. We have been given a choice, allow this small yet meaningful bit of the past to be forgotten, or become part of the history by becoming "Caretakers", and ensure that future generations will know the truth and be able to enjoy this rich heritage.

10/23/2026

I’d like to thank everyone who has shared anything about the museum in the recent week! All eyes and energy on this project is good for our mission!

I’d like to clear up a few things because I think they are helpful to know.

1. Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro is not in danger of losing the home to any entity. Mother Nature and time are our biggest competitors right now. We are launching the 1500 x 20 fundraiser to help fund our Historic structure report which is the critical next step to find out everything we need to have done on the home and how to save it in a way that allows us to keep our state historic status. This report will be the guiding light as we began to apply for grants.

2. We are not under any legal contract with Hernly & Associates yet! They have only come out to the home to look at it (free of charge) and give us all the information we need to move forward in renovating the home. They have also given us a bid ($30,000) to complete the historic structure report so that we can start this journey.

3. This home does not belong to the Hope family. This home belongs to ALL OF US! We are not saving Hope family history, we are saving BLACK HISTORY! We are trying to create a space to educate our youth and adults alike! This is your history too! Jesse Hope may have had the vision for the home… but even he knew he was not the end all be all and that community support would be paramount to saving this space!

This is legacy work for me and its work that I love and dedicate much of my free time to! I’m calling on you all to help me and the board at CCOQ SAVE THIS HOME. Things have been quiet for years. I promise I will share the story as to why very soon! But now we are ready for action. Please follow Concerned Citizens For Old Quindaro Museum share our post, reach out for tours, donate! It doesn’t have to me monetary! Your resources and time are just as valuable!

Be apart or rebuilding Quindaro’s Legacy!

Nakia Hope-Paul
President - CCOQ

We have been overwhelmed by all of the community support and offers to help as we take the journey to save the Old Quind...
10/23/2026

We have been overwhelmed by all of the community support and offers to help as we take the journey to save the Old Quindaro Museum (John Walker Home). We are beyond excited to announce that our 1,500 x $20 Fundraiser has officially launched through the Givebutter.com platform. Our goal is to bring together 1,500 supporters willing to donate just $20 each to help us raise $30,000 toward the restoration of the historic Old Quindaro Museum! Every donation brings us one step closer to preserving this important piece of Quindaro’s history for generations to come. The fundraiser is NOW LINKED IN THE BIO of all our social media pages! Help us spread the word by donating, sharing, and encouraging others to join the movement! We invite you to check out the donation page to learn about this small donation that will complete such a meaningful step in our preservation efforts!
1,500 People. $20 Each. One Historic Mission.

Did you know the old Quindaro Museum stills offers tours?! You can reach us via our website (www.OldQuindaroMuseum.com) ...
10/21/2026

Did you know the old Quindaro Museum stills offers tours?! You can reach us via our website (www.OldQuindaroMuseum.com) or by any social media app or email to schedule a tour. We would love to talk to you about freedom seekers and the lives they created for themselves in Old Quindaro! This is a great way to learn about their descendants who still live in Quindaro today. We would love for you to also join us on November 14th for our cemetery restoration event as we honor those families! RSVP on the website!

10/15/2026
We are so excited to share the date for part two of our cemetery restoration series. We hope to see you there!
10/07/2026

We are so excited to share the date for part two of our cemetery restoration series. We hope to see you there!

We intentionally chose not to make the fallen tree in front of the Old Quindaro Museum an immediate priority. Because th...
08/25/2026

We intentionally chose not to make the fallen tree in front of the Old Quindaro Museum an immediate priority. Because the home is currently vacant, we felt it was more important to focus our time and resources on members of our community who were displaced or otherwise impacted by the storm.

But while we were focused on our neighbors, someone was looking out for us, too! ❤️

We want to extend a very special thank you to Kansas City, Kansas Environmental Services and our District 1 Commissioner, Jermaine Howard, for thinking of the Old Quindaro Museum during this time and helping remove most of the fallen tree. Your support made the job ahead of us much easier, and we are incredibly grateful!

The Old Quindaro Museum, also known as the John Walker Home, is listed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places, and we are actively working to preserve and restore this important piece of Quindaro history. Moments like this remind us that the community cares about preserving the places that tell our story.

As grateful as we are for the help we received, our focus remains on our neighbors who are in immediate need. Homes can be repaired and historic spaces can be restored, but right now there are families in our community who need helping hands.

Please continue to follow our stories, where we will share opportunities to donate, volunteer, and support recovery efforts throughout our community.

Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to help our neighbors recover. ❤️

Planning a summer road trip? How about visiting the places where ordinary people made extraordinary change? We’ll talk t...
05/28/2026

Planning a summer road trip? How about visiting the places where ordinary people made extraordinary change? We’ll talk to Chris Garlock of the Labor Heritage Foundation about their new Labor Landmark Map! Then we’ll visit a nearby landmark – Quindaro, the town founded by Wyandot Indians, abolitionists and free blacks as a free port on the Missouri River. We’ll talk to Nakia Hope-Paul, a descendant of Robert Monroe who escaped to freedom across the winter ice. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg. Thursday at 6pm. Rebroadcast Friday at 5am. Find us at KKFI 90.1 FM or streaming at kkfi.org . We archive the show at heartland-labor-forum. We podcast too. , .

30 days from today, we gather to honor history, preserve sacred ground, and serve our community.On June 13th, The Concer...
05/15/2026

30 days from today, we gather to honor history, preserve sacred ground, and serve our community.

On June 13th, The Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro will host “Sacred Grounds: A Day of Service at the Old Quindaro Cemetery.” This event marks the launch of our three-part restoration initiative focused on preserving one of the most historic African American burial grounds in our region.

The Old Quindaro Cemetery is the resting place of formerly enslaved people, community leaders, children, families, and generations of Quindaro residents whose stories deserve to be remembered and protected.

During this day of service, volunteers will assist with:
• Cemetery clean-up
• Grave identification efforts
• Historical education and community engagement

This is not a grave restoration event, but rather an opportunity for the community to come together in respect, service, and remembrance.

We would love for you to stand with us as we continue the work of preserving Old Quindaro’s legacy for future generations.

Location: We will meet at Quindaro Park
Date: Saturday, June 13th
Time: 10 AM – 12 PM

RSVP today at:
www.oldquindaromuseum.com

Address

3432 N 29th Street
Kansas City, KS
66104

Telephone

+18168203615

Website

, ,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Concerned Citizens For Old Quindaro Museum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Concerned Citizens For Old Quindaro Museum:

Shortcuts

Share

Category