At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Senator Edward M. Kennedy said, "We will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American--north, south, east, west, young, old--will have decent, quality healthcare as a fundamental right and not a privilege. We can meet these challenges ..." These now historic words from Kennedy are symbolic of the nation's century-old quest to provide access to quality affordable healthcare to all citizens of this great country and as such, these words set the context for this investigation. How has this controversy developed? What are the stories that make up the composite picture that surrounds this national contest? This article explores one small facet of this issue and travels the road to "gridlock" as revealed through the journey of an urban community in the heartland of America. The study focuses on a narrow and limited segment of the larger, complex issues implicit in the great healthcare debate. It seeks to investigate the history of a segregated nursing education program at General Hospital No. 2 in Kansas City, Missouri as viewed through the reflections of a former student, teacher, and superintendent of the segregated hospital nursing school program in Kansas City, Missouri. Methodologies employed in this investigation include a survey of the literature, analysis of original documents and artifacts, and oral history interview. The relevance of this study is described as the potential benefit of sharing lessons learned from historical review and reflection and the power and freedom gained with the illumination of voice to those historically ignored and silenced. (Contains 8 figures.)