Page "Kansas City, Missouri" Paragraph 26

In 1950, blacks represented 12. 2 % of Kansas City's population.

The sprawling characteristics of the city and it environs today mainly took shape after the race riots of the 1960s in Kansas City.

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was a catalyst for the 1968 Kansas City riot.

At this time, slums were also beginning to form in the inner city, and those who could afford to leave, left for the suburbs and outer edges of the city.

The post – World War II idea of suburbs and the " American Dream " also contributed to the sprawl of the area.

As the city's population continued to grow, the inner city also continued to decline.

The city's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 89. 5 % in 1930 to 54. 9 % in 2010.