Rosemary Lowe, ‘a change maker’ in Kansas City and civil rights leader, dies at 94

Rosemary Lowe, a longtime Kansas City neighborhood leader who made it her life’s work breaking the shackles of racism, sexism and discrimination, died Tuesday evening. She was 94.

For decades Lowe served as president of the Santa Fe Area Council on the city’s East Side and worked behind the scenes to help with the founding of the Black political club Freedom Inc.

Lowe was one of the first crop of Freedom Inc. sponsored candidates who sought elected office. In 1962, Lowe, along with Leon Jordan, ran for Democratic committee representatives for the city’s 14th Ward, a predominately Black area.

Lowe lost that election, but Jordan won, giving Freedom the cornerstone to build a political power base. Freedom had long fought to end white-faction control of Black voters. Lowe later captured the seat, which she held for 20 years.

“She was a titan of Kansas City politics,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas. “She was a change maker of the likes which frankly is almost unmatched in Kansas City.

“Rosemary Lowe was somebody who knew about Kansas City, loved Kansas City, cared about Kansas City, cared about the Black community and cared about creating opportunities for people of all ages and races. I will miss her greatly.”

During her decades of public service, Lowe served on numerous boards, volunteer committees and helped with the appointment of chiefs of police and other policymakers. Many politicians, community advocates, law enforcement officials and civic leaders frequently sought her advice and wise counsel.

“Rosemary Lowe was the last of the architects of African American power in Kansas City,” said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II. “She is the political mother of every Black elected official in this community, whether they acknowledge it or not.”

“In the Black community—and probably every other community as well—a woman was involved in the birth of all good things. Freedom, Inc. was one of Mrs. Lowe’s children,” Cleaver said.

‘There will never be another Rosemary Lowe.’

Known as someone who did not mince her words, Lowe was often outspoken and unflinchingly honest, said Troy Nash, a former 3rd District At-Large council member.

“And I grew to rely on that,” Nash said. “It was good solid information from years of struggle and pain in fighting for civil rights and equality. She was truly the real deal, very authentic. It is an end of an era and there will never be another Rosemary Lowe.”

Long before the great work that the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did on behalf of women and civil rights, Lowe battled sexism within the civil rights movement, Nash said.

“She was a pioneer in desegregating Kansas City in a meaningful and productive way but also within the movement itself,” he said. “She was often the only lady at the all boys table.”’

Mamie Hughes, a former Jackson County legislator, a longtime civil rights leader and a founding member of the Central Exchange, said Lowe played a key role during the 1950s and efforts to desegregate downtown Kansas City department stores.

Years later, Lowe was instrumental getting thousands of Black voters registered before the April 1964 citywide vote on public accommodations. The proposed ordinance would make it illegal to discriminate in taverns, trade schools, hospitals or clinics.

As a neighborhood leader, Lowe fought for more streetlights, better housing, improved infrastructure and stronger ties between community and police.

Following an violent altercation at 27th Street and Benton Boulevard in 1996, Lowe arranged meetings between police and street gangs. She asked the United States Department of Justice to train the gang members in mediation and communication — tools the young men needed to clean up the corner and remove drug dealers.

‘She is such an icon.’

Decades later, Lowe used her considerable influence to help convince city leaders to relocate the Police Department East Patrol Division to 27th Street and Prospect Avenue.

The $72 million Leon M. Jordan campus, which includes a police crime lab and police station, has helped spur redevelopment of the intersection once beset with blighted property, crime, open drug trafficking and prostitution.

“She is such an icon,” said Rev. John Modest Miles, longtime pastor of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church of Jesus Christ. “She had so much respect from the whole city. If she was on one board, then she was 20 boards in the city.”

Lowe attended Morning Star for nearly 80 years, Miles said.

Lowe, a retired cosmetologist, was a member of the board of directors of the KC Neighborhood Alliance, Missouri Board of Cosmetology, and the Local Investment Commission. She also volunteered for the American Red Cross at Menorah Medical Center and the Veterans Administration Hospital.

In 2004, Lowe received the Harry S. Truman Award and years later the city renamed the stretch between 29th Street to Prospect and Indiana avenues in honor of Lowe.

“The community is at a great loss with the passing of Rosemary Lowe, longtime 3rd District resident, leader and advocate,” said Melissa Robinson, who represents the 3rd District on the Kansas City Council.

Robinson said she grew up in the Sante Fe neighborhood, “ I was moved then and still moved today by the authority and respect she commanded with her presence and voice.”

“She taught us to never accept anything less than the best for our neighborhoods. She taught us the importance of hard work and how to build strong relationships to ensure positive change. Mrs. Lowe was a powerful force for upward mobility. She will always be a hero to me and to many.”

Early life and family

Lowe grew up in Dumas, Arkansas, which she told The Star in 2002, it was “like growing up in slavery. Everything was bad.” Her family moved to Kansas City when Lowe was 15.

The Santa Fe neighborhood runs from 27th Street and Linwood Boulevard and from Indiana to Prospect avenues. Lowe and her family moved there after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling dismantled housing covenant that kept Black families out.

“She meant the world to me and I was very proud of my mother,” said her son, James White Sr. “She opened doors where a lot of people couldn’t find the building.”

Funeral services will be held on Oct. 1 at 10 a.m. at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, 2411 E. 27th Street, Kansas City.

This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 5:51 PM.