Scope and Contents The oral history recordings in this collection are a result of a collaboration between UMKC Libraries and KCUR. The project was intended to preserve the history of unrest in Kansas City in 1968 following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The oral histories were conducted at the Kansas City Public Library’s Southeast Branch, and at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza Branch. The recordings are of Kansas City community members and documents their memories and thoughts about...

Scope and Contents The collection contains 300+ oral histories, conducted from 1956 to 1986, that capture the development of jazz as related by a host of musicians and bandleaders who defined the tradition. All aspects of the jazz experience are captured in the interviews, ranging from musical triumphs to hardships on the road during the Great Depression. Reflecting Driggs' interest in the development of Southwestern and Kansas City jazz, the collection is rich in oral histories of the bandleaders and...