KC police pepper-sprayed him in a viral video. He’s still fighting for his community
The odds were never in favor of Tarence Maddox growing up as a Black man in the crime and poverty of urban Kansas City, Kansas.
But instead of becoming another statistic, Maddox, echoing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., dedicated his life to fighting for his community. Now serving his second term as the president of the Kansas City, Kansas NAACP chapter, the 40-year-old educator has no intention of letting anything stop him.
“I wanted to see better in my community and see people achieving goals instead of going to jail,” says Maddox. “But then, it was understanding that poverty creates a lot of turmoil, and we need to provide those resources to shed light on our tough situations.”
Maddox may be best known now for the viral video at a Black Lives Matter protest near the Country Club Plaza in May 2020. The clip found its way onto a segment covering the nationwide protests and police response on “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.”
The video showed Maddox and his children peacefully protesting on the sidewalk adjacent to two lines of officers in riot gear. Officers approached Maddox, pepper-sprayed him and his 15-year-old daughter, then slammed him to the ground while people watched in shock.
Maddox recounts how in a split second he went from a college-educated Black man to just another victim of police brutality.
“My mental state was, what is about to happen? Are we about to be attacked? Are they going to bother my children? We were in a group of people, so I didn’t know they were coming for me specifically,” says Maddox.
Last year, the family won a lawsuit against the Kansas City Police Department.
“That was the direct reflection of what Black people were saying they were dealing with,” says the father of six. “So why are we not allowed to use our constitutional rights? I am a vigilant civil activist who will stand up for the rights of everyone and stand against any system of oppression in our country.”
Maddox, who teaches at J.C. Harmon High School, became the advocate he envisioned in 2010, when he began a youth mentoring program called Books Not Bars. It taught young Black boys life skills, keeping them active by teaching fraternity-based step routines. The program was a way for Maddox to combine his passions for education, mentoring and stepping skills learned from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Though his group is no longer active, Maddox keeps in contact with the young men he was a father figure to for so long.
“The best part to me was seeing the young men they have become. They are leaders because they were taught to be, through community service, conflict resolution, and even skills like dressing for success,” he says.
Maddox will be the first to tell you that he is not a perfect man.
In 2014, while Maddox was serving as a commissioner for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, a legislative auditor accused him of ethical violations, and the board censured him. Maddox says he did nothing wrong and he faced no related criminal charges, but he later lost his reelection bid.
The experience gave him a new understanding of the need to influence and cultivate the next crop of leaders.
“We popularize sports stars and entertainers, and being a real leader is not popular. We don’t see more leaders in the community because of a lack of appreciation. I am seeing fewer people take a role in activism. I think people are seeing how leaders have been attacked and targeted,” says Maddox.
He hopes more younger people will pick up the torch and fight for equality and fair treatment.
“People didn’t trust King when he was alive. People called him an agitator and a troublemaker,” says Maddox. “But when you have the support and trust of the people you serve, that is what keeps you going.”
