Last year marked the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka -- the court ruling that cleared the way for school desegregation. To mark the anniversary, the Kansas Humanities Council sponsored a local StoryCorps project, in which area residents were interviewed about growing up in the shadow of the Brown decision. Since the beginning of February, Kansas Public Radio has been presenting some of these stories. Today, we listen in to a story told by Tobias Schlingensiepen (SCHLING-en-ZEE-pen) to his friend Tracy Hicks, about the stigma associated with integration in his neighborhood near Boswell Junior High.
That's Tobias Schlingensiepen, talking with Tracy Hicks. The Topeka residents took part in a StoryCorps project last year, marking then 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision. The project was sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council, the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and the Brown v. Board National Historic Site. You can find other stories from this local StoryCorps series elsewhere on the KPR website.
To listen to the StoryCorps pieces that have aired so far, click HERE.