Activism

Some reproductive rights activists say that Amendment 3, which Missouri voters passed in November, didn't go far enough in expanding abortion access to help the most vulnerable populations. One sticking point was the amendment's language setting limits at "fetal viability," which does not have a true medical definition.

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.

The Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign of Weston, a small but mighty nonprofit dedicated to documenting the untold stories of Weston's Black forebears, held its first Juneteenth Heritage Jubilee in 2021. Since then, the small river town just north of Kansas City has become a destination for regional Black history.

The new autobiography "Show Me Justice: The Happy Life Journey of Alvin Lee Sykes" documents the extraordinary story of the self-taught legal scholar from Kansas City. Sykes fought tirelessly to re-open several unsolved civil rights cold cases, including the murder of Emmett Till.

A world-renowned ceramic artist educated in Kansas City has made a career of injecting activism into the delicate teapots he crafts. Richard Notkin recently returned to the Kansas City Art Institute to teach a masterclass in making art with meaning.

KCPD says there is an ongoing review and investigation into an altercation caught on cellphone video in the Power & Light District after the Jan. 28 Chiefs’ game.

Indigenous languages have been systematically suppressed throughout history. An event at the Kansas City Public Library central branch on Wednesday evening highlights poets who are bringing tribal languages back into their poetic processes.

Brandon Wolf is a survivor of the 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orland, and wrote the memoir, "A Place For Us." He'll speak as a part of the Grandparents for Gun Safety's 10th Annual Community Forum on October 9.

Artists have long used their work to advocate for a better world, and these Kansas City creatives think that solutions to one of today’s biggest issues — gun violence — can be found through art.

A Kansas City teenager is leading a push to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in city council and school board elections. DJ Yearwood says it would make voting a habit from an earlier age and create a "civic transition into adulthood."

Kansas City teen DJ Yearwood is the campaign director of Vote16MO, an initiative to lower the voting age in municipal and school board elections in Missouri. The group wants to get a measure on the ballot by November 2024.

June is synonymous with Pride, as cities and organizations recognize the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ rights through parades and rainbow regalia. Kansas City's own Pride celebration can trace its start back to one activist: Lea Hopkins. Plus: Meet a Kansas City singer who hasn't let her newfound fame take away her hometown roots.