KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Descendants of Kansas City’s former Steptoe neighborhood in South Westport gathered Sunday at St. James Missionary Baptist Church to commemorate their history with two holidays: Father’s Day and Juneteenth.
The Steptoe neighborhood began as a few farms that formerly enslaved families tended before it eventually grew into a neighborhood with over 110 homes along 42nd and 44th streets from Jefferson to Wornall. It was at its peak in the 1950s.
The neighborhood’s historical significance lies in the fact that former slaves could live and buy property there, in addition to getting an education at the Penn School, the first school west of the Mississippi built solely for educating Black youth.
“African Americans, we were definitely a vital part of the Santa Fe Trail, of westward expansion, and I think that gets left out of history a lot,” said Erik Stafford, a local historian and owner of the Kansas City Tour Company. “We had just as much Underground Railroad activity here in this area per capita as any other area in the United States.”
But along with the historical achievements comes tragic history.
“It’s American history, and Kansas City being right in the middle of America, our story is a typical American story that everybody can identify with,” Stafford said. “Not even a half mile from here, in the Westport Square ... families were separated right there at the auction block because they bought and sold slaves right there. So you had fathers who had their families taken away during that time period.”
Because of its history, the community gathered at St. James to carry out its annual Juneteenth celebration.
“When slaves finally received their freedom, one of the first things that was on their mind was reuniting with their family,” Stafford said. “For me, Juneteenth has always been about not just the freeing of the slaves but also, it’s a reason for family reunion.”
And Sunday’s activities were just that.
“I came here as a youngster,” said Mark Turner, a former Steptoe resident who still lives within a block of St. James. “You see those little kids, the kids that are around, those are my great-grandsons.”
Turner’s trajectory in the now 153-year-old church went from admiration to action.
“I have been a deacon at this church; this year makes 40 years,” Turner said. “My grandfather was a deacon here for 40 years.”
Turner grew up being surrounded by role models, including his grandfather.
“I’m 73 years old. This is the only neighborhood I’ve ever known,” Turner said. “We ran, we played, we played hide and go seek. We did everything, you know. And nobody did too much outside the neighborhood, so it was kind of like we were on an island.”
Sunday’s celebration brought back countless memories of father figures he had in the neighborhood but also how far the area has come.
“I just miss it, and a lot of times, I just close my eyes and remember how it used to be when we’d all sit up here,” Turner said.
The property that once comprised the Steptoe neighborhood now houses St. Luke’s Hospital, the Embassy Suites and what Turner described as "a lot of parking lots."
“It’s bittersweet,” Turner said. “I’m very, very emotional about the fact that there are no houses anymore, but you know what, St. Luke’s is doing things to save lives.”
With few physical markers outside St. James or the year-old Steptoe Street sign, Turner and Stafford said verbal history is just as important.
“The original historians were grios, and the way that history was taught was orally, and those stories were passed down from generation to generation,” Stafford said. “That is the most innate way to preserve our history, is through oral history telling, but we have to continue to research, seek the truth [and] learn from the past so that we can become better because of it — because that’s how we heal and that’s how we move forward.”
When Turner thinks back on his grandfather, he said he knows he’d be proud.
“I’m doing all the things that grandpa could have never dreamt of doing because he couldn’t read or write, he could only write his name,” Turner said.
Now, when Turner writes his name, it says "role model."
“I’m really too old to be working, but kids need to hear this story,” Turner said. “They need to hear the story that you can.”
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