civil rights

Kansas City previously honored farmworker advocate and union leader César Chávez with murals and a street in his name on the Westside. But some community leaders are reconsidering after a bombshell investigation accused him of sexually abusing multiple girls and women.

Melissa Robinson, a Kansas City Council member, will join the Urban League of Greater Kansas City as president and chief operating officer while the organization seeks Grant’s replacement. Grant will officially step down in one year.

Rep. Melanie Stinnett, a Springfield Republican, sponsored the bipartisan bill that could give voting rights back to more than 53,000 Missourians. It passed the Missouri House 107-36, and is now waiting for action in the Senate.

CUNY constitutional law professor Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, a Kansas City native, will return to her hometown next month for a Rainy Day Books event about her new book “A Protest History of the United States.”

Watkins was a founder of the political organization Freedom, Inc. and one of the Kansas City Council’s first two Black members. He was a vocal opponent of Highway 71 — although parts of the parkway were eventually named after him. An event at the Kansas City Public Library on Sunday, Feb. 15, will remember his full life and legacy.

In "Footeprint," out today, Lindsay Metcalf resurrects the history of Eunice Newton Foote, a 19th-century scientist who discovered carbon dioxide’s heat-trapping properties while fighting for women’s place in science.

A KCUR investigation uncovered a criminal probe launched against a resident by Lenexa police because of a newspaper opinion piece critical of the department.

The letter in Wichita shows an early draft that might have informed some of the civil rights leader's most famous speeches.

The U.S. Supreme Court appears ready to strike down parts of the Voting Rights Act that protects minority-majority congressional districts. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt said the St. Louis-based 1st Congressional District may be redrawn next.

Depending on the timing, a Supreme Court ruling that weakens Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination may lead to more states redrawing congressional maps before the 2026 midterms.

A champion of women and children’s rights, Kitchen is remembered by those who knew her as someone who never gave up on a cause. Throughout her career, she has won many awards for her activism and gained recognition from the White House for her work.

A Black transgender woman sued the Missouri Department of Corrections, claiming officers kept her isolated for six years based on a policy that singles out people with HIV. Missouri is now changing its policy as a result of that settlement.