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Dr. King's Civil Disobedience Legacy | Kansas City's Black Businesses

A crowd protests at J.C. Nichols Fountain on May 30, 2020.
Carlos Moreno
/
KCUR
A crowd protests at J.C. Nichols Fountain in Kansas City, Missouri on May 30, 2020.

What today's young activists think of Dr. King's methods for advancing social justice, and the circumstances holding back Kansas City's Black entrepreneurs.

Segment 1, beginning at 5:06: Leaders of Kansas City's social justice movement assess the value of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s strategies in their work today.

Protest marches and boycott's were among the methods used by Dr. King to advance the cause of Black people but violence never was. In these days of Black Lives Matter, we asked if the reverend's approach still works or if more is required.

Segment 2, beginning at 34:23: Kansas City non-profit issues report on Black businesses.

A Black person wanting to start a business in this town or a Black business owner trying to expand or just keep a company up and running will face obstacles that others do not. TheGenerating Income for Tomorrow organization has been issuing grants to help and prepared a report based on the recipients of those grants.

  • Brandon Calloway, executive director, Generating Income for Tomorrow (G.I.F.T)
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.