Celisa Calacal
Race and Culture ReporterAs KCUR’s Race and Culture reporter, I use history as a guide and build connections with people to craft stories about joy, resilience and struggle. I spotlight the diverse people and communities who make Kansas City a more welcoming place, whether through food, housing or public service. . Follow me on Twitter @celisa_mia or email me at celisa@kcur.org.
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The Kansas City Council moved forward with a plan to build a modular jail with about 100 beds. Officials say the temporary facility is necessary, as plans to build a permanent municipal jail will take years. -
The state's new congressional map uses Troost Avenue as a dividing line, and groups majority Black neighborhoods in east Kansas City with rural communities in the middle of the state. Community leaders worry the new divide will mean the needs of underserved urban neighborhoods go ignored. -
The Bowen Tower Tenant Union began withholding rent at the beginning of October in response to repeated flooding, pest infestations and plumbing issues that tenants say go ignored by management. -
A federal judge ruled Friday that University of Missouri System President Mun Choi violated students' freedom of speech when he barred the group Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine from taking part in the Homecoming parade. The judge ruled Choi excluded the group because of its views on Israel and Palestine. -
In the bill text detailing Missouri's new congressional maps, one Kansas City precinct appears to be included in both the 4th and 5th districts. That would mean those voters would get to vote for two representatives in Congress. Gov. Mike Kehoe disputed that the voters have been allocated to two districts. -
A federal lawsuit argues the University of Missouri violated the First Amendment rights of Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine when it denied their applications for Homecoming parade. The school wouldn't allow "stop the genocide" banners and Palestinian flags, but did permit "Make America Great Again" and Israeli flags. -
Missouri's new congressional map carves up Kansas City into three separate districts, fulfilling the wishes of President Donald Trump. The ACLU filed a lawsuit Friday, and Kansas City Council recently passed a resolution authorizing legal action of its own. -
Attendees at the National Baptist Convention in Kansas City criticized efforts by Missouri Republicans to carve up the 5th Congressional district, currently held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II. They said such a move silences Black and brown voices in the political process. -
Tenants at two apartment complexes in east Kansas City and another in Lee’s Summit unionized for better living conditions. Their landlord is a real estate company in New York, and a big player in federally subsidized affordable housing. -
The lawsuit marks the first legal challenge against the special session convened by Gov. Mike Kehoe to redraw the state's congressional map and splinter Kansas City to create a 7-1 Republican-dominated map.
