I spotted an Oz museum on the way to Topeka and decided the hosting town would be our destination for that evening. We spent a lot of time off of the main interstate and had an opportunity to enjoy more of the beautiful prairie and small towns of middle America.

Many towns in Kansas lay claim to the Oz legacy. I must admit this little Oz museum was a tad disappointing, however, it rekindled my great love for the Oz books. Unlike most children, I had read a number of the Oz series, enchanted by the richness of characters and the development of the Oz story far beyond the Judy Garland version on which so many of us were raised. Since our return home, Steve and Grange have been steadily working their way through the fourteen book series.

While wandering through the little museum, we identified our favorite Oz characters, mine being Scarecrow and the kids loving Tin Man best. The gift shop did sport some fun items, a Fighting Totos shirt for Grange and a Where’s Toto shirt for Kira. I preferred a ruby slipper cup. Our donations to Land of Oz kitsch completed, we continued our journey toward Topeka.

Our journey's theme of juxtapositions continued when we went from the fantasy of Oz to the reality of segregation and the monumental racial legacy of Brown vs. Board of Education. The museum is located in a humble, once-upon-a-segregated-time school. Their interactive displays allowed me to step back and watch the kids' respond to unfolding scenes of individual bravery amidst collective bigotry.

We started in the main room, an old gym converted to a 360 degree visual Civil rights history featuring the legal battles which ended school segregation and brought Thurgood Marshall into the limelight. When we were sitting in this particular area, the kids were somewhat tired. Grange, in particular, was unable to focus while we sat through the entire montage trying to sort out the many images and ideas flashing above and around us.

Grange perked up when we moved into another room featuring film footage of white prejudice spewing at brave black students attempting to gain equal status in the schoolyard. Kira and Grange were appalled by what some of the white students and adults were saying, the hatred and bigotry obvious on their faces and in their hearts. Four different vignettes were playing and the kids were repeatedly drawn back to watch them, trying to sort out how people could use such flimsy reason for such monumental abuse.

One of the highlights during our visit happened while sitting in the ranger’s office. The kids were being tested for what they had learned when a black gentleman stuck his head in the door with a bit of a confused look on his face. He had attended this school and decided to drop by for a visit, having no idea the school had converted to a National Historic Site. His obvious pleasure at seeing the rich and proud story which had been built here was written all over his face. Before walking out the door, he shook hands and introduced himself to the kids and me. His face was beaming as he exited the building.

This visit gave us a lot of time and opportunity to discuss the ugly underbelly of our nation’s freedoms; the fact and hypocrisy that for many decades; a nation of the people, by the people and for the people was not for all of the people. One of our favorite documents, the Declaration of Independence, was written by white men for white men; giving rights to a boy like Grange but not to a girl like Kira and certainly none of the protections and benefits for the likes of their Native American friends. Brown vs. Board of Education illuminated one of many struggles the American people have taken in their march toward more fully realizing the promises originally laid out in our founding documents.