Since early February, we've been sharing stories about growing up in Topeka, in the shadow of segregation. As part of the 60th anniversary of "Brown versus the Topeka Board of Education," the Kansas Humanities Council sponsored a local StoryCorps project last year. Today, we hear J.B. Bauersfeld interview Dale Cushinberry, his former principal at Highland Park High School. While growing up in Topeka, Cushinberry attended both segregated and integrated schools. And while he welcomed the Brown decision, he has mixed feelings about the effects of leaving his all black elementary school. Like others interviewed in this series, Cushinberry says black communities often lost something good in the transition to integration.
That's Topeka resident and former Highland Park High School prinicpal Dale Cushinberry, being interviewed by his friend and former student, J.B. Bauersfeld. They took part in a local StoryCorps project last year, marking the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board. The project was sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council with help from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and the Brown v. Board National Historic Site.
Click HERE to listen to the StoryCorps pieces that have aired so far.