Racism

Vivian Wilson Bluett is an emerging, self-taught artist who wants her art to create community conversations around social and racial justice and history.

In her new memoir, "Blindsided: Essays From The Only Black Woman in the Room," Dawn Downey battles a mental war between sensing racism and denying it.

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.

The report was commissioned in 2020 after the Kansas City Star published a year-long investigation exposing discrimination against Black and women firefighters.

After a news report revealed persistent issues with racist and sexist harassment at the Kansas City Fire Department, the city ordered an investigation into department conditions. It found problems persist, enabled in part by unions slowing efforts at reform.

A historical marker in Clayton, Missouri, declared that St. Louis County was “first visited by white colonists” in the early 1700s. The sign was taken down this past November, but a professor says it was a missed opportunity for change.

Two bills introduced in the Kansas Legislature were drafted by officials in Roeland Park, which has struggled for years to fully eliminate racist deed restrictions that are now illegal to implement but remain stubbornly on the books of homeowners' associations.

Multiple Kansas City-area schools have reported incidents of racist vandalism and discriminatory comments in recent weeks. "We have to talk about white supremacy being normalized in these districts," says Kansas City Defender founder Ryan Sorrell.

Reparation efforts in urban area are gaining national attention, as both Kansas City and St. Louis study what they can do to make amends for harm inflicted on African Americans. But elsewhere in Missouri, rural areas are taking their own steps toward righting historic wrongs on a neighborhood level.

Michael Rogers was hospitalized after being violently attacked by members of the Aryan Brotherhood in retaliation for cooperating with prosecutors. His lawsuit accused the Kansas Department of Corrections of placing him in the general population at El Dorado Correctional Facility despite known threats to his safety.

University Academy students and parents and various community activist groups gathered Wednesday to discuss an incident where a teacher allegedly used the racial slur in class. Some attendees presented a list of demands to the school.

Kevin Johnson was sentenced to death in 2007 for the slaying of a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. But an extensive investigation found the state’s handling of death-eligible prosecutions was rife with pervasive racial bias.