Westport
What happened to Kansas City's first school for Black students — and its historical marker?
Walking past Dr. Jeremiah Cameron Park in Westport, a reader noticed a marker for something called the Penn School and wrote to What’s Your KCQ?, a partnership between the Kansas City Public Library and The Kansas City Star, to learn about it. The park, located on Broadway Boulevard between 42nd and 43rd streets, marks the “Penn School Historic Site,” and was named for an alumnus of the Penn School who was an educator and the second Black member of the Missouri Parks and Recreation Board. The class of 1933 dedicated the plaque in homage to their alma mater in 1992. As of this writing, the plaque is missing — a reminder of the shaky role markers play in preserving local history and the challenges of making that history known.