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Up To Date

Seg. 1: Diversity & Housing Cost In Raytown, Overland Park. Seg. 2: Truman's Civil Rights Awakening.

Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University
World War II veteran Sgt. Isaac Woodward, shown here with his mother five months after being beaten and blinded by a South Carolina policeman, was subject to that treatment after failing to address a bus driver as "sir."

Segment 1: Municipal lawmakers from both sides of the state line discuss the hurdles facing their cities.

In a metropolitan area like Kansas City, different cities often find themselves dealing with similar issues at around the same time. Today, we learned about a few examples of this. Raytown, Missouri, finds itself dealing with issues of inclusivity, tied to growing diversity there, and transparency, a state audit will soon looka t allegations of financial mismanagement. Diversity and inclusion is a big issue in Overland Park, Kansas, too, as is a lack of affordable housing.

Segment 2: beginning at 21:15: The beating and blinding of a World War II veteran that set the civil rights movement in motion.

On Feb. 12, 1946, Sgt. Isaac Woodard, an African American veteran, was removed from a Greyhound bus in Batesburg, South Carolina, after he challenged the driver’s disrespectful treatment of him. Woodard, in uniform, was arrested by the local police chief and beaten and blinded while in custody. The incident caught the attention of President Harry Truman, who initiated the first presidential commission on civil rights. Today, we learned how the episode helped change the course of American history.

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.
As culture editor, I oversee KCUR’s coverage of race, culture, the arts, food and sports. I work with reporters to make sure our stories reflect the fullest view of the place we call home, so listeners and readers feel primed to explore the places, projects and people who make up a vibrant Kansas City. Email me at luke@kcur.org.