![]() That’s a powerful authoritative voice that has a lot of audiences, spreading a completely wrong depiction of Kansas City’s role. But when some months ago I attended a constitutional law lecture from the dean of the Berkley Law School, a leading member of the UMKC Law School faculty, serving as moderator, told the gathering that, in fact, racial restrictions were invented in Kansas City. Nichols.Īs one who has written a book on the subject of the Nichols Company’s Country Club District and makes regular appearances to groups of all kinds on the subject, I’m familiar with the fact that this misconception is out there. Specifically, they laid the blame to just one person, J.C. ![]() These committee members, who included a UMKC professor, not once but twice labeled Kansas City as the home of deed restrictions designed to keep blacks from residing in artificially created whites-only neighborhoods. Two of the members of the committee referred to Kansas City’s “unique” burden in considering reparations, meaning its legacy of discriminatory housing. I doubt I’ll ever get the word out enough to dispel all the misconceptions, but here goes. Like every city in America, Kansas City has a lot to account for.īut there is one thing Kansas City does NOT have to account for, and when I heard it referenced several times in the on-air discussion, I was moved to write this piece. ![]() It seems impossible to do, and particularly impossible to do so that everyone feels fairly compensated, individually or as a community. Steve’s guests were members of Kansas City’s reparations committee who, over the next year, are going to begin the process of actually addressing how reparations can best be made. I found the May 2 nd conversation particularly fascinating. I listen to Steve Kraske’s Up to Date on KCUR almost every day.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |