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New Report On Black-White Disparities in Kansas

Executive Director Mildred Edwards.
Kansas African American Affairs Commission
Executive Director Mildred Edwards.

How does the status of African Americans in Kansas compare with that of its white citizens? That’s the question that inspired a recent report by the Kansas African American Affairs Commission.

The commission was established in 1997 as an advisory group to the governor.  It recently partnered with the Kansas Urban League to look at economic, health, educational and criminal justice indicators. 

The report, called the State of African Americans in Kansas, will be used to guide strategies and better target funding to address equity gaps between white and black populations. To discuss the findings, KCUR's Susan Wilson spoke over the phone with Mildred Edwards, executive director for the commission.

This story was produced for KC Currents, which airs Sundays at 5pm with a repeat Mondays at 8pm. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
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