Lawrence Brooks IV
Race & Culture ReporterLawrence Brooks IV is KCUR's former race and culture reporter.
I work to help readers and listeners build meaningful and longstanding relationships with the many diverse cultures that make up the Kansas City metro. I deliver nuanced stories about the underrepresented communities that call our metro home, and the people whose historically-overlooked contributions span politics, civil rights, business, the arts, sports and every other realm of our daily lives.
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When a fan greeted Alan Wayne "The Pradagy" with a personal twist on a Buddhist phrase, it helped him through a dark time and inspired a T-shirt line. Now Pradagy has a thriving business with his Lincoln College Preparatory Academy classmate Andrew Beck. -
The longtime activist and community leader spent his life fighting to improve the lives of Mexican American residents in the Westside neighborhood, and was a force of nature who “transformed the community at the sociopolitical, cultural and educational levels.” -
One naturalized Kearney resident, originally from Mexico, is ready to make her voice heard in the 2024 election. Nearly 900,000 immigrants and refugees became U.S. citizens in 2023, and the rapidly growing population could impact elections. -
The festival's second year kicked off this week at the Screenland Armour theater in North Kansas City. This year’s mission is to celebrate Black filmmakers from Missouri whose work explores contemporary and historical social issues. -
Desde la década de 1950, el baloncesto masculino latino ha sido una tradición en el barrio de Westside. Un icónico torneo de baloncesto que le rinde homenaje a un antiguo entrenador de adolescentes del barrio, Tony Aguirre, se ha juntado con las celebraciones del fin de semana del Cinco de Mayo para recaudar fondos para los deportes en la comunidad latina. -
Latino men's basketball has been a Westside tradition since the 1950s. An iconic basketball tournament that honors a former youth coach in the neighborhood, Tony Aguirre, has been paired with Cinco de Mayo weekend celebrations to raise money for local Latino sports.
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A pair of exhibits at the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence are inspired by the life and death of Emmett Till, which helped launch the civil rights movement. The work of area textile artists helps connect the 1955 killing to contemporary violence against Black people. -
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum accepted on Thursday the remnants of the vandalized statue. The cleats will be added to an existing exhibit about the first Black American to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. -
Businesses were split on their reaction to the vote on April 2 that rejected the extension of a 3/8th-cent sales tax for a ballpark in the Crossroads. Some said the loss of a downtown stadium just blocks away would hinder progress in the district. Others said the campaign was doomed from the start. -
Muslims worldwide celebrate Ramadan every year by fasting from sunup to sundown, and then breaking bread with friends and family at the end of each day. Halal markets help feed believers by providing hard-to-get supplies from around the globe and offering discount prices to those who need them during the monthlong celebration.
