From its start in 1857, the Quindaro township—in present-day Wyandotte County—was an unabashedly free-state community surrounded by pro-slavery sympathizers. Amid this conflict, Quindaro residents forged a community based on multi-ethnic collaboration—a model for ethnic solidarity today. The unique personalities that combined to create the Quindaro Underground Railroad also bridged a seemingly insurmountable political gap with the pro-slavery town of Parkville, Missouri.

Steve Collins details the history of this unique community on Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. This illustrated presentation explores Quindaro's founding by members of the Wyandot tribe as well as the community's role in the abolitionist movement within the Kansas Territory.

Collins is a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Kansas City Kansas Community College and past field director of a grant to preserve the Quindaro Ruins.

This presentation is part of the Missouri Valley Speakers Series, a program of the Missouri Valley Special Collections at the Central Library. The series is made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.