Between the Rock and a Hard Place kicked off with a public presentation at the Watkins Museum of History on January 26, 2020. An energetic crowd of over 100 filled the lower level meeting room. Among the crowd were Kanza Tribal citizens, historians, geologists, professors and even four descendants of the early founders of Lawrence.
We began by making introductions to the project team and then around the room as each person said what brought them to the meeting. Next Pauline Sharp, project co-leader gave a short presentation that shared a history and context for the Pioneer monument known to the Kanza as the Big Red Rock. Beginning with the last ice age that brought this glacial erratic south to the confluence of the Shunganunga Creek and Kansas River, onward through its relationship with indigenous peoples and finally to the story of its capture and removal to Lawrence, Pauline personalized the story including how her grandmother, Lucy Tayiah Eads, was Chief of the Kanza at the time the Big Red Rock was moved.
After outlining the project timeline and objectives, we got together in groups to imagine the Park and all of its features in five years. We explored how the Park might change to address issues related to accessibility, cultural equity, and potential use of the space. In the share-backs that followed, we heard a wide range of possibilities including –
That the Kanza Nation should decide what happens with the rock
Add the geologic history of the rock as part of a timeline
Change the name of the park
Replace the rock with a hologram
What is the relationship of Robinson Park to the lynchings of three African-American men in 1882?
Make this a place of education and healing
Engage with descendants of the founding abolitionists
Thanks to Editorial Cartoonist Greg Kearney