The Richard Allen Cultural Center opened in 1992 to highlight African-American history in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

. In 1992, the museum opened in the former home of U.S. Army Captain William Bly, a Buffalo Soldier during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The home is decorated to look as it would have in the early 1900s. In 2002, an addition was built to the front of the original home to display more items teaching about African-American history in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. One display includes prints of original

photographic plate Photographic plates preceded film as the primary medium for capturing images in photography. These plates, made of metal or glass and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, were integral to early photographic processes such as heliography, d ...

negatives donated to the museum, called the Black Dignity Photos from the Mary Everhard collection. The photographs are African-American pioneers who lived in and around the Leavenworth area from 1870s to 1920s. Other items include military artifacts from African-American soldiers who served on

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

, including

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

. The Richard Allen Cultural Center also contains a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

costume and photographs depicting KKK activities in Leavenworth. One artifact is a news article discussing the public lynching of an African-American citizen of Leavenworth, Fred Alexander. The Richard Allen Cultural Center seeks to preserve these pieces of Leavenworth, Kansas history so that they are not forgotten. In 2016 a bronze bust of

Cathay Williams Cathay Williams (September 1844 – 1893) was an American soldier. An African-American woman, she enlisted in the United States Army under the pseudonym William Cathay. Williams became the first female to enlist and the only documented woman to s ...

, featuring information about her and with a small rose garden around it, was unveiled outside the Richard Allen Cultural Center.

History

The original Bly family Buffalo Soldier home was deeded to the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1991. It is next to Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Leavenworth. The center was named for Richard Allen, who founded the first African Methodist Episcopal church in the United States. The home of the Bly family was opened as a museum in 1992 and an addition in 2002 provided office, display space and classroom tutoring space.

Tutoring and community outreach

In the basement of the new annex, the Richard Allen Cultural Center offers tutoring to children. Tutors typically include military officers from Fort Leavenworth's Buffalo Soldier Chapter of ROCKS, a professional development organization which began in the 1960s to support the professional advancement of African-American military officers in the U.S. Army. Members of THE ROCKS continue to provide tutoring to children of all races at the Richard Allen Cultural Center.

References

* * * {{Leavenworth, Kansas Buildings and structures in Leavenworth, Kansas Museums in Leavenworth County, Kansas African-American museums in Kansas Museums established in 1992 1992 establishments in Kansas