Honoring the Steptoe Community
The Steptoe neighborhood, located just south of Westport, is a historically Black neighborhood established around 1850. Following the Civil War, changes in legislation allowed newly freed Black residents to rent and own property in designated areas. In Kansas City, one of those areas became the Steptoe neighborhood, bounded by Jefferson Street on the west, Wornall Avenue on the east, 42nd Street to the north, and 44th Street to the south.
Although the neighborhood only covered a few blocks, Steptoe was a vibrant and active community. Its residents represented a wide range of occupations, and were skilled, hardworking, and engaged members of the community.
The Steptoe neighborhood also developed institutions that served the neighborhood’s residents. The neighborhood was home to two churches: St. Luke’s African American Methodist Episcopal church, which is no longer standing, and St. James Baptist church, which remains part of the community today. Penn School, located at 4327 Pennsylvania Avenue, also provided education for Black children in grades one through seven.
Dr. Jeremiah Cameron Park, located at the corner of 43rd Street and Broadway Boulevard, commemorates the former site of Penn School. Dr. Cameron attended the school alongside renowned jazz musician Charlie Parker. A dedicated educator and passionate civil rights advocate, Dr. Cameron also became the second African American to serve as commissioner on the Kansas City Parks and Recreation board.
In 2008, the park was named in Dr. Jeremiah Cameron’s honor, recognizing his contributions to Kansas City education, his advocacy for better employment opportunities for minorities within the Parks department, and his commitment to improving parks and recreation services in the City’s urban core.
Partnering with Steptoe Lives
Dr. Jeremiah Cameron Park plays a critical role in stormwater management in the Westport Stormwater Improvements project. The park is the final water storage point to manage discharge before reentering the existing combined sewer system, containing 2 million gallons of underground stormwater storage capacity.
The Steptoe community’s long history in the Westport area made its members invaluable partners during the design phase of the Westport Stormwater Improvements project. The community was particularly engaged in conversations about improvements to Dr. Jeremiah Cameron Park, including developing a community vision for how the park could better commemorate the rich history of the neighborhood when the stormwater improvements were complete.
Leaders from the Steptoe community, represented by the Steptoe Lives Coalition, participated in design and visioning workshops for the park, held at Multistudio. Other community members and stakeholders also attended advisory group meetings and shared their hopes for the park’s future. Through this collaboration, the Westport Stormwater Improvements team and members of the Steptoe community envisioned a park that would both serve the neighborhood and honor its history. Various design elements were integrated as part of the project, including:
A pedestrian path from 43rd Street to Mill Street through the park.
Native trees and landscaping.
Gateway entry feature with walls and staircase at the 43rd Street entrance.
A dedicated space for future artwork and other park amenities in partnership with the Steptoe Lives Coalition
Through the partnership with Steptoe Lives and the stakeholder engagement conducted through the Westport Stormwater Improvements project, the group was able to leverage additional City and grant funding totaling around $280K for additional artwork elements in the park. The City went through a call for artists process where dozens of concepts were submitted and in September 2026, selected the artist to commission artwork for the park.
