Today we drove to Kansas City to see the Harley Davidson factory. Who would have thought that they would close at 1pm!! Very sad, we were looking forward to this. Oh well, something else to do next time. We decided to keep on going west to Abilene, and catch the Eisenhower Library and museum.
Well, we just couldn't keep to the plan - again! As we were driving, I was looking up things to see in the area and I found the Brown vs. The Board of Education museum. We couldn't miss this! So on to Topeka we went! The bonus was, this is also the state capital, so a picture was in order! We are trying to take a picture of all 50 state capitals :)
The museum is housed in Monroe Elementary School. This was a former black only grammar school, and where the Brown vs Board of Education law suit began. The school is beautifully maintained, and the exhibits are in the actual classrooms. This is a great museum with a very powerful message. The struggle for equality among all races has been going on for hundreds of years, and all the history is here in films, photos and writings. But the real impact for me, is seeing that so much that went on with the segregation laws and their impact on all Americans, happened while I was in school myself! As I read the captions and articles, and looked at the time lines, I remembered the actual events. I learned about the injustices in our early history in school and thought that it was just that - history. When you put it all in perspective, the rights provided to all in the Constitution are, in very recent history, being upheld and guaranteed by law. To think that the injustices depicted here at the Brown vs Board museum and the Little Rock Nine museum happened in my lifetime - inexcusable! We have not come as far as you might think, or hope.
Our next stop was the Kansas State Capital. Again, a very beautiful building. Too bad that most of the state capitals that we have seen, have not been in the best parts of town. Around many of the capitals, most of the streets are lifeless, and there are a lot of empty buildings. I will say, that each one that we have seen on this trip has moderate to major renovation going on. That is a good thing because I think the Capital and surrounding area should be a jewel that the State takes pride in.
Because of our side trip to Topeka, we didn't have time for the Eisenhower Library, so we will catch that first thing in the morning. We will then continue west on Highway 70.
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