Kansas Matters

This collection of fifty short articles from prize-winning journalist, Mark E. McCormick, examines Kansas from three angles: the important history in danger of erasure, Kansans who have invested their lives in positive social change, and issues currently in the forefront in Kansas (and nationally), especially those where Kansas has taken a lead. McCormick writes pithy prose that reveals perspectives and factual information new to general readers. The history he reveals is often unknown to Kansans and to those who view Kansas as only "fly over" country.

From the early experiment in multiracial democracy called Quindaro, to the key roles Kansas and Kansans played in the civil war, student-led sit-ins, affirmative action, and school desegregation, readers will find these short pieces surprising and enlightening. McCormick discusses individual Kansans, highlighting ordinary people doing extraordinary things out of their commitment to justice. The final section of the book explores the state's leadership in issues like the right to choose abortion, police/community relations, the impact of bail, and the unfortunate tenacity of Jim Crow behavior in the state legislature and its formation of policy.

McCormick is a beloved commentator on the state of the country. Here his views shine through the lens of Kansas, a state full of contradictions with a history of setting precedents the nation both political parties would follow.

Thirty photos illustrate and enhance the text.