No one is working with a greater sense of urgency curating and writing about Lawrence history than Dennis Domer. His friendly manner, work ethic and way of communicating are infectious. If you are fortunate to have been his student at the University of Kansas or attended a recent presentation by Domer, you know what I mean.

Domer released Embattled Lawrence, Vol. 2: The Enduring Struggle for Freedom in June 2023. It was a bestseller at the Raven Book Store for months and it made the top 10 books of 2023 and 2024. 

The book highlights our shared history featuring topics rarely written about or avoided by previous historians. Many of the articles are written by community members; most are not historians or scholars but have experienced the history or taken special interest in it. 

But since the release of Vol. 2, people have asked Domer frequently: “Where can I get a copy of Vol. 1?” 

Domer, who is working diligently on Embattled Lawrence, Vol. 3: Building the City, decided to circle back to Vol. 1: Conflict and Community. Domer had a team of passionate people on board and thought now was the time to improve Vol. 1. 

There were 1,500 copies printed of Vol. 1 when it was released in 2001. The book has long been out of print and difficult to locate. Sometimes a copy turns up at local garage sales or the Lawrence Public Library book sales. They also come up online — as of this writing, there were two for sale, at $695 and $225.

Vol. 1 came out of a course called “The Biography of a City: Lawrence,” taught in KU’s Humanities Department in 1998. “The authors all joined in the lecture-discussion process and then wrote articles based on their lectures,” Domer said. 

Unfortunately, Domer said he had no input on the photographs, cover art or design of the book. 

The first change people will notice with the revised edition is the cover. The photograph is a freedom march, taken on July 21, 1963. Davis located the photo at KU’s Kenneth Spencer Research Library. The march took place on Ninth Street in East Lawrence. The photograph communicates the subtitle of Vol. 1, Conflict and Community, perfectly.

The revision will include more than 100 additional photos, higher quality paper, footnotes on each page instead of endnotes, and a redesign that will be similar to Vol. 2. 

“It’s going to be so much better,” Domer said of the revised Vol. 1. “We will be making substantive changes, building on what we have. Most of it’s there. It’s about making it the best book we can.”

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the original pages, at left, alongside the updated Vol. 1, at right:

Embattled-r

There are many people helping Domer with the series, but the two primary team members for Vols. 1 and 3 are Monica Davis and Brenna Buchanan Young.

Davis was the research service coordinator at Watkins Museum from 2015-2022.

“Monica brings a tremendous expertise of photography and knowledge of Lawrence history,” Domer said. “She knows the collections, where the photos are located, making connections between the photographs and text in the articles.”

Davis said she likes artistic photos, and photos that really make you stop and think about what’s going on. 

“A lot of people will buy this book and the first thing they are going to do is flip through and look at the photos,” she said. “If I can’t capture their interest with the image, they might not read the article.”

Young is a historic preservationist and design consultant who serves on Lawrence’s Historic Resources Commission as the architectural historian. 

“She can resolve any problem. She’s hardworking and can do a lot with the design implementation,” Domer said. “Brenna is the perfect person to work with.”

Young said Domer has very high standards, “which is why I like working with him so much.”

“We really do want the best quality product. It takes work and time,” she said. 

Young has great admiration for Domer and views the opportunity to be involved with the Embattled Lawrence series as a privilege. 

“It’s probably the most significant project I will work on in my lifetime,” she said. “To get the opportunity to participate in this project on any level gives me such a sense of fulfillment. I appreciate the opportunity more than anything, and the fact that I can have such an impact with its visual and physical final production.”

A key aspect of this series that Domer wants people to understand is that the Embattled Lawrence series is “mostly a voluntary effort by a group of people who are not making a penny.” 

Domer has given the publishing rights to Watkins Museum of History. All sales go to the museum and are shared with the Raven Book Store. 

“The books are for the community and by the community,” Domer said. 

Recently while reviewing Vol. 1, I noticed a quote on the back cover by Mike Rundle, former Lawrence city commissioner and mayor, that sums up the series in a beautiful and concise manner: “Falling in love with Lawrence is the easy part. To really love and care for a community, you must have a deeper knowledge that comes from sources such as Embattled Lawrence.”

Domer hopes to have the revised edition of Vol. 1 off to the Versa Press this month and on the bookshelves at Watkins Museum and the Raven Book Store by spring or early summer of this year. 

If you are one of the lucky people who have Vol. 1, be sure to pick up Domer’s revised edition when it’s available. I’m confident you will be impressed. 

Finally, if you are inspired to help Domer and his team manifest Vol. 3 and 4, you can donate to the Watkins Museum for Embattled Lawrence at this link.

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