Activism

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.

Kansas City’s first Pride parade in 1977 was spearheaded by Lea Hopkins, whose organizing sparked a wider gay rights movement that continues today. But it was only a few weeks after that successful event that Hopkins found herself on the defense again, when a prominent anti-gay activist came on a crusade through town.

As the 16-year-old recovers at home and the alleged shooter, Andrew D. Lester, awaits trial after pleading not guilty to two felony charges, a diverse group of residents showed up this week to protests. The case has reignited anger about race, guns and policing.

The exams, which occur on anesthetized patients without their knowledge, are often done by medical and nursing students who are told to perform them by their superiors. While non-consensual pelvic, prostate and anal exams remain legal in 29 states, legislation that seeks to ban the practice has gained traction in Missouri.

Independence, Kearney and Leawood are the last remaining cities in the Kansas City metro that still ban residents from owning pit bulls. Dog-loving residents in Independence are trying to collect more than 3,000 signatures in order to force a city-wide vote on repealing the ban.

Christina Anderson's play follows a Black family's journey through the years after desegregating the public pool in their fictional Kansas town. The show will tour 10 Kansas City community centers and libraries, after completing a run at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

Friday Night Protest, an activist group that holds weekly demonstrations to honor people killed by the Kansas City Police Department, has taken another step in advocating for police accountability and the victims of police violence.

Last week, Sunrise Movement organizers protested outside of Kansas City Hall, calling for action on a specific climate plan being considered by the city council.

Frustrated by the slow pace of progress in combatting climate change among their parents’ generation, some young Missourians are channeling their climate anxiety into action in their communities.