Heart of America Golf Course

A Kansas City, Missouri municipal course in historic Swope Park, Heart of America occupies the site of the old Swope Course No. 2 — the smaller, poorly maintained course to which Black golfers were restricted (from the mid-1930s they could play only on Mondays), while whites-only Swope No. 1 sat nearby. That segregation drew a landmark protest on March 24, 1950, when four Black golfers — Reuben Benton, George Johnson, Leroy Doty and Sylvester "Pat" Johnson — teed off on the whites-only course, helping desegregate the city's municipal golf. Course No. 2 was later refurbished into today's Heart of America Golf Course, home to a Tom Watson-designed junior course.