THE

BROWN

LINE

New Works by

Michael V. Toombs

2024 marks the 70th Anniversary of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision— the landmark Supreme Court case that ended legal segregation in American public schools, changing the face of our nation. These mural panels, entitled The Brown Line and painted by artist Michael V. Toombs, have been commissioned by ArtsConnect as part of that commemoration.

Our community — and nation — continue to battle “separate but equal” mindsets and in many ways and the dream of Brown remains unrealized. This project celebrates, educates and advocates — pushing for greater understanding of the critical importance of equity and justice. ArtsConnect is the only city-wide arts organization in Topeka, and we learned with the 2018 Brown v. Board Mural Project: Legacy & Vision that Topeka is ready and able to be a model for the nation in how we can engage with complex histories through the arts. The time is ripe to energize our city by illuminating the Brown story and inspiring our nation towards a more just future.

  • This panel depicts a timeline spanning the transatlantic slave trade through Reconstruction - the years when the “Reconstruction Amendments” to the Constitution were passed. These amendments were intended to restore civil rights to formerly enslaved people. It is significant to note, however, that much work was underway to undermine the rights of Black Americans - with the formal establishment of the Ku Klux Klan taking place just six days prior to the ratification of the 13th amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States.

    Not until nearly 100 years later would Brown v. Board (1954), the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965) be passed, undoing the work of many in the 19th century to undermine the cause of abolition through Jim Crow Laws and other racist policies.

  • The Brown Line (right panel)

    This panel depicts images that relate specifically to the setup that underpinned the Brown v. Board decision. Preceding the Brown decision were many other “tests” of the system that eventually would provide the precedent necessary to make the Brown decision possible.

    These were often supported by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and pertained to students attempting to access post-secondary educational institutions. Examples of these cases are Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938) and Sweatt v. Painter (1950). Cases like these offered opportunities for the NAACP to continue to attack legally-sanctioned segregation in higher education, eventually leading to the Brown v. Board (1954) decision by the Supreme Court.

    There was much work done by “regular” people who wanted equal access to public education at the primary level - not only for their own children, but for all children. Following the Brown decision, Black students began to attend their new integrated schools. While this was considered by many to be a victory for the great experiment that is American democracy, the Black children whose classrooms no longer had Black teachers and for whom public school became a place that did not offer care for them as human beings is also a critical legacy of this decision.

    The descendants of the original plaintiffs - the children who were on the front lines of school integration in Topeka, Kansas, are shown at the bottom right of the painting and are joined by others from the Topeka community who continue to insist that the whole story be told.

UPCOMING EVENT

Join ArtsConnect in conjunction with Visual Artists of Topeka during “NOTO Live” on Friday, Sept 20th from 6-9p for an opportunity to meet artist Michael Toombs, hear him talk about the new works he has created in commemoration of Brown v. Board and explore ways that your personal history can help define the future of our community.

The artist discussion will begin at 6p and activities will continue until 9p.

This project is generously funded by Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the state arts agencies of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Michael V. Toombs

Michael Vance Toombs is an accomplished painter, art activist, and founder and CEO of Storytellers Inc., Artist Collective.  Mr. Toombs is a community leader and champion for young people and working artists in the Greater Kansas City area. Michael began as a young student with Matthew Monks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. He furthered his study through classes atthe Kansas City Art Institute and completed a business entrepreneurial course of study through Donnelly College, Kansas City, Kansas.

Michael left the corporate world as customer service manager for GEHA Insurance for 8 years where he helped setup their customer service department which handled 3500 calls a day with 75 customer service reps. He left to develop his own business in the belief that ”Art is a Change Agent for society’s difficulties.”

Michael’s art form is “interactive community-based art.”  As Executive Director of Storytellers Inc, Michael has developed contracts with many high profile organizations including University of Missouri, Wichita State University, Environmental Protection Agency, Accessible Arts, Bartle Convention Center, Olorun Foundation in Burkina Faso, West Africa, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority, Jackson County Family Courts and C.O.M.B.A.T – Jackson County Prosecutors Office,KCMO Mayor’s office, KCMO Police Dept., ArtsTech and InterUrban ArtHouse, as well as the 18th and Vine Jazz district.

FEATURE PRESENTATIONS: Engaging the Legacy of Brown v. Board Through the Arts

ARTWORK UNVEILING & ENGAGEMENT
Sept 21-22, 2024

During the two-day “NOTO Live” weekend, ArtsConnect will invite the public to visit our gallery, talk with artist Michael Toombs and view the panels for the first time. Mr. Toombs will lead an interactive activity that will help participants understand the themes presented in The Brown Line as well as how their own personal history can become part of an important conversation about the future.

ArtsConnect | 909 N Kansas

PANEL DISCUSSION: ENGAGING WITH HISTORY THROUGH ART
October 19, 2024

Brown v. Board Nat’l Historical Park Site 1515 SE Monroe

Hosted at the Brown v. Board National Historical Park Site, ArtsConnect will present a panel discussion featuring artist Michael Toombs and others who will discuss the importance of using art as a tool to engage with local, national and personal histories.

More about this project….

Along with many other organizations across our community, ArtsConnect has been engaged in the important work of commemorating the significant history of the case, amplifying the voices of those whose lived experiences can help us understand the complex fallout of the decision and find ways to engage young people in the conversation so that these lessons may continue to ring out through the next generation.

In 2018, Michael Toombs orchestrated the painting of a giant mural across the street from the Brown v. Board National Historical Park Site - utilizing works of art by students in grades K-12 as the basis for the work.

Through this process, it became clear that artists like Michael Toombs have a special power that enables them to align the complexities of history and lived experience into something that can be deeply understood by ALL of us.

Therefore, thanks to the generous support of the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kansas Arts Commission, we are proud to present The Brown Line, two 5’ x 2’ paintings on wood panel that show a timeline of history that leads up to present day - and features a portrait of “The Students” whose continued dedication to helping their community understand this history is remarkable, important and difficult. The paintings also serve as a part of the demonstration project for the first Topeka Arts & Culture Master Plan, which aligns the arts with current community planning initiatives and is meaningfully integrated into Momentum 2027, Topeka’s five year plan.