FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Kansas City, Kan., Community College Board of Trustees has awarded John Newman a commission to produce a mural depicting the historic Quindaro township of Kansas City and its relationship to slavery and the famed Underground Railroad.

Newman, associate professor of art in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, grew up in Kansas, is an African American and is a past resident of the Kansas City, Kan., area.

“This subject was dear to my heart,” said Newman. “My family migrated from Arkansas to Kansas in 1954 when I was six years old. I have always been aware of Quindaro’s rich heritage as I walked and drove over much of this inner-city area while growing up. As part of the research for the mural, I will be touring the area with professor Collins, a noted Kansas City history professor who has written extensively on the Quindaro area.”

During the tour, Newman will be photographing and sketching significant points of historical interest. He expects to walk the bluff area and see remnants of the paths taken by early African Americans escaping from pro-slavery Missouri into Kansas. He is also scheduled to meet with Jessie Hope, a longtime resident of the area.

The proposed project is a 39-foot, three-panel oil mural on canvas with each panel measuring 7 feet by 13 feet. The painting will depict the anti-slavery activities of the early Quindaro town-site settlers and will note the role of the site as a station on the Underground Railroad.

Newman has been granted space to work on the mural by the Fayetteville public school system at the old Jefferson Elementary School.