This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.

Hey, I just wanted to give you a heads up that this series will touch on some tough topics,

including sexual assault, murder, and suicide.

If you or someone you love has been affected by any of those themes,

I've left some links in the description that offer resources and support.

Take care of yourself.

Like most neighborhoods across the country, Quindaro, the area of Kansas City, Kansas, where most of

this story is set, isn't perfect. You've already heard the stories of Kansas City, Kansas, where most of this story is set, isn't perfect.

You've already heard the stories of crime, violence, and decline.

But it's a community that goes beyond the headlines.

And for most of my childhood, it was just home.

I loved walking around the neighborhood after school,

going to Wilson's pizza for a slice with cheese and pepperoni and playing outside with my cousins, knowing that all of my family

members were just a few minutes walk away.

But one thing I didn't know about my neighborhood until much later was its incredible history.

My name is Nika Hope.

Nika runs a nonprofit in Kansas City that was inspired by a man she's never met,

her fifth great-grandfather, Robert Monroe, who she was introduced to by the older members of her family,

like her grandma.

I can remember early as like five or six, them telling us stories and pointing stuff out.

Back then, she wasn't really paying attention.

...