by Asia Jones
You can see and experience Kansas City and the nation’s Black History 365 days of the year through the Kansas City Tour Company! Urban Hikes KC sat down with the company’s owner, Erik Stafford, local historian, to learn more about the company and why thousands of people are taking his tailor-made historical tours by the bus load.
Q: Which of your tours do you believe is the most popular?
A: When I say the Kansas City Black History Bus Tour is the most popular tour, it’s really the claim-to-fame tour. Because it does go to Quindaro and Independence so it’s not confined to one area. I think it’s popular because it’s a bus tour, a motor coach, and you can just see more. It’s comfortable and a great way to see and learn about the city by going to those locations and I think that is the best way to learn history. So I can’t really say one tour is better than another, but I can say that you can just see more on this tour and you can go all the way across the city.
Stafford on Kansas City Black History Bus Tour
Q: Who is your favorite Black woman to talk about during your tours?
A: I talk about Lucile Bluford, Emily Fisher, and a lot of your Jazz musicians and singers like Billie Holliday or Black educators like Anna Jones. They come to mind immediately but I will say that in a lot of cases. Women are still underrepresented when it comes to Black history in Kansas City. The list goes on and on but I think we can do a better job of highlighting Black women.
The Kansas City Call employees in front of the newspaper’s offices with Miss Bluford at center, ca. 1930s. Image courtesy: The Kansas City Call. Image found on KC Library page about Lucile Bluford
Q: What was the most interesting thing you learned while researching Kansas City Black history to prepare for the tours?
A: One of my favorite people to talk about is Felix Payne. He was much akin to Harlem’s Bumpy Johnson but a lot more politically connected. People referred to him as the idol of 12th Street. He was the numbers king or lottery king, and he was the official banker in the Black community. One thing about him that was very significant about him was that he worked with another Black man to run a newspaper that competed with The Call and was responsible for helping the Black population swing toward the Democratic Party. He also owned a professional baseball team in Kansas City, KS that rivaled the KC Monarchs, and a character in the HBO series Fargo was inspired by his life.
Stay connected to hear about possible future partner hikes with the Kansas City Tour Company this summer! You can also read more about available tours at https://www.kansascitytourcompany.com/