Kansas City experienced deadly riots that put the national spotlight on our city. They left six people dead, hundreds arrested and multiple blocks of the city in flames.
Frustrated with the slow pace of civil rights reforms and outraged at the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., protesters in Kansas City took to the streets on April 9, 1968.
The four subsequent days of civil unrest shocked many in a city known for its lack of racial violence despite deep, underlying tensions. Six people — all African- Americans — died, some 20 more were hospitalized, and arrests totaled nearly 300. A three-block area of Prospect Avenue was bombed out and burned down.
