Up To Date

Bakari Sellers Understands It's Now His Job 'To Pick Up The Baton And Keep Running'

By Steve Kraske,

Published February 26, 2021 at 3:53 AM CST

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A crowd protests at J.C. Nichols Fountain on May 30, 2020. — In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Bakari Sellers gauges what progress has been made in race relations and social justice in America.

On whether America will seize this moment in history to progress in race relations after the death of George Floyd, Bakari Sellers reminds us, 'We've missed moments like this before.'

At age 22 Sellers became the youngest African American elected official in the country when he was voted into South Carolina's House of Representatives. Now an attorney and political commentator for CNN, Bakari Sellers spoke of the need to break the cycle of inherited trauma that many Black people live with.

Bakari Sellers, political commentator, author of "My Vanishing Country"

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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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Chris Young

Chris Young is an Assistant Producer for KCUR’s Up To Date. Contact him at chrisy@kcur.org.

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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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