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Olivia Williams Is Young, Gifted, Black — And Leaving Kansas City

By Steve Kraske,

Published September 9, 2020 at 6:56 PM CDT

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Raised in Grandview, Missouri, college student Olivia Williams is not planning on returning to the Kansas City area once she graduates.

Can Kansas City make itself a place where young Black people want to stay?

Grandview native Olivia Williams has her sights set on Atlanta after graduation, because she feels it's more welcoming to young Black women like her. She wrote about it in a blog post for the Kauffman Foundation, and detailed three steps Kansas City needs to take to make itself a place she'll want to stay.

Olivia Williams, student at Washington University in St. Louis

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Steve Kraske

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.

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Liam Mays

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Danie Alexander

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.

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