The Library's Missouri Valley Special Collections has two coloring books available for free download that celebrate the lives and contributions of local women in our region's history. Read about the legacies of these notable Kansas City women and download digital copies of the coloring books to print out and enjoy. Find both editions at kchistory.org.coloringkc.

   

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Coloring Kansas City: Women Who Made History

Kansas City has been home to many extraordinary women. Pioneers. Activists. Entrepreneurs. Artists. Some were born here, others came and never left, but all helped shape our city into what it is today. The Women Who Made History coloring book features just a few of the many remarkable women who left their mark on our community. Browse the full set of profiles and access digital files at kchistory.org/coloringkc.
 

Among the women highlighted :
 

• Lucile Harris Bluford, a journalist, civil rights crusader, and community leader, best known for her 70-year career at The Kansas City Call newspaper and the namesake of the Library’s Bluford Branch.

 

• Eliza “Lyda” Burton Conley, a member of the Wyandot Nation who is thought to be our country's first female lawyer of Native American descent.

 

• Nelle Nichols Peters, an architect who designed nearly 1,000 buildings in Kansas City, including the Ambassador Hotel, the Country Club Plaza Poets District apartments, and the McConahay Building where Walt Disney’s Laugh-O-Gram Films once was located.

 

• Josephine Silone Yates, a renowned teacher, writer, and outspoken advocate for racial equality. She taught at Lincoln High School and, in 1893, co-founded the Kansas City Women’s League, which eventually merged with the National Association of Colored Women.

MORE   |   Digital Booklet Download (PDF)   |   Download All Profiles (PDF) 

   














 

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19th Amendment Centennial

In 2020, as our nation began commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the Library’s Missouri Valley Special Collections produced a second edition of  Coloring Kansas City that highlighted eight local women who took part in the suffrage movement. A digital edition and downloads of all the suffragists’ profiles are also available at kchistory.org/coloringkc.  The project was made possible with a gift from The Kansas City Athenaeum and through the generosity of supporters of the Kansas City Public Library and of the Missouri Valley Special Collections.

Among the women highlighted:
 

• Ida Bowman Becks led the local African American community in the pursuit of equality, and her work led to the establishment of the Yates YWCA and the Kansas City Urban League.

 

• Mary Tiera Farrow was one of the first female lawyers in Missouri. She opened the first women’s law practice in Kansas City, where she worked to protect the rights of women and children.  

 

• Emma Siggins White led numerous charities and organizations while also serving as chair of the Jackson County League of Women Voters. In 1920, she organized a nonpartisan citizenship school at the Kansas City Public Library to help women prepare to participate in national elections.

MORE   |   Digital Booklet Download (PDF)