‘We got your back’: KC Tenants honors Kansas City man allegedly killed by landlord
About three dozen people stood in a parking lot Saturday afternoon across the street from Trinity United Methodist Church in Kansas City, chanting in unison, “Brent, we got your back.”
KC Tenants, a local organization that advocates for housing rights, held its “mega canvass” Saturday. But this event was organized in honor of Darryl “Brent” Gilland, who was killed last month after being stabbed more than 30 times during an altercation. He was 28.
Gilland’s landlord, Gordon T. McBeth, 44, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in his death.
During the canvass, KC Tenants leaders went door-knocking to recruit new members to the citywide tenant union. But before that began, Gilland’s family, including his mom and stepdad, one of his sisters and his girlfriend spoke to three-dozen KC Tenants members.
Gilland had just moved into a house in the 6200 block of North Topping Avenue with his girlfriend, Samantha “Salem” Pohlman, before he was killed.
“His wants and dreams was to take care of Samantha, marry her and have children,” his mother, Donna Groves, said. “And this was a step toward that, getting into a house instead of a hotel, or apartment.”
“These people here are going to help other tenants so this doesn’t happen. They’re going to tell them the right thing that they can do.”
Gilland’s death had a deep impact on KC Tenants, an organization formed to ensure tenants are treated respectfully by landlords across the city. That’s why KC Tenants reached out to the family and asked if they would attend the canvass.
“I think it’s really important that he gets his story spread,” said Jetzel Chavira, a leader with KC Tenants. “Really it just ties into the whole violence of evictions.”
Gilland’s move into the house was a step in the right direction, his family said. He’d recently gotten a new job and a friend had offered him a house that he could rent and renovate.
But then on Oct. 22, Gilland asked McBeth for help in turning the heat on in the house and to use a space heater, his family said. When McBeth arrived, court records show, the landlord pulled out a knife and threatened Gilland and Pohlman, who ran next door for help.
When Pohlman returned from the neighbors’, Gilland had been stabbed multiple times. According to charging documents, one neighbor ran over, pulled out a handgun and ordered McBeth to stop and lay on the ground until police arrived.
Chavira said that what happened to Gilland is similar to what happens with other tenants across the city: they ask landlords for something and risk retaliation or violence.
“I think a lot of people are going to be able to relate to his story,” Chavira said. “So it’s just super important to get the word out so people know that they’re not alone and that we have their back and that they can do something.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 3:04 PM.
