Hundreds protest in Kansas City against gerrymandering, ‘attacks on democracy’
Hundreds gathered Monday in Mill Creek Park on the east edge of the Country Club Plaza to protest what organizers called continued attacks on democracy, workers’ rights and freedom.
“We’re here to resist in any way we can,” said Timothy Desclos, of Kansas City, as he stood with his wife among an array of signs containing slogans such as “Democracy Over Fascism,” “Fight Truth Decay,” “Stop the Mad Man” and “Respect the Voters.”
“What’s going on is un-American.”
The rally was organized by several groups and unions, including Stand Up KC, the Missouri Workers Center, Indivisible KC, SEIU Local 1, SEIU Healthcare, Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition and 50501 Kansas City.
“We’re out here today to show our strength in numbers … ” said Terrence Wise, a leader of the Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC. “We are the people rising up — Black, white, brown, north of the river, south of the river, east of Troost and west of Troost.
“We want our elected leaders to fight for our freedoms, not steal them away from us so they can line their pockets.”
Fran Marion, a fast food worker and a leader with Stand Up KC and the Missouri Workers Center, told the crowd that House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, “lied to all of us” when Republicans voted in May to repeal Proposition A, an initiative petition approved last year that expanded access to paid sick leave for Missouri workers.
“It’s anti-Democratic, and it’s anti-American,” Marion said, adding that people need “to confront the bullies from the statehouse to the White House.”
When workers’ rights are under attack, Marion asked, “What do we do?”
“Stand up, fight back!” came the loud response.
Beverly Harvey, founder of Indivisible Kansas City, told those in attendance — she put the estimate at 1,000 to 2,000 — that “today, we have terrorists in our government … they want to destroy democracy.”
“But today, we are all here to tell them, ‘Hell, no!’ Did you hear that, Kehoe? Trump? We’re not going away.”
A major concern among the protesters was President Donald Trump’s calls for Missouri lawmakers — including Patterson, who represents the Kansas City suburbs most at risk in Missouri — to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
On Friday, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe ordered lawmakers to return to Jefferson City for a special session to gerrymander the state’s congressional map, an action spearheaded by the Trump administration that propels Missouri into a national redistricting battle. Kehoe also called on legislators to weaken the state’s initiative petition process that allows citizens to place measures on the ballot.
The special session, aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s firm grip on Missouri politics, is to begin Wednesday at noon. The redistricting drive comes as Trump’s political team has pressured Republican-led states to redraw their U.S. House maps so the GOP can maintain a majority in Congress.
A copy of a proposed congressional map released Friday — called “the Missouri First Map” — appears to carve up the Democratic-leaning 5th District, which includes Kansas City’s urban core and nearby suburbs. That could effectively force U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, Kansas City’s longtime Democratic congressman, out of office.
Congressional districts are usually redrawn once every decade, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Under maps that lawmakers passed in 2022, Republicans control six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts, while Democrats control the 5th District in Kansas City and the 1st District in St. Louis.
Many signs at Monday’s rally were critical of the gerrymandering effort. Among them:
“Fight Trump’s Power Grab,” “Show Me Fair Maps Not Rigged Maps,” “Stop Rigging Elections” and “Thou Shalt Not Steal Applies to Congressional Seats.”
Cleaver attended the rally, greeting well-wishers and posing for pictures.
“I think it’s very important for the people in Washington to know that the people here are not in favor of what’s going on,” Cleaver said. “And the worst thing about it, this was not done in Jefferson City. This was done in the White House.”
Steve Werner, of Kansas City, described the proposed redistricting map as “crazy stuff.”
“That’s their main goal — to rig it to where Democrats don’t have infuence commensurate with their size,” he said.
Gerrymandering is just one of many concerns he has about what’s happening throughout the country, Werner said.
“Instead of getting to a stronger democracy,” he said, “it feels like our democracy is being destroyed.”
Chris Waechter, a retired iron worker who lives in the 5th District, carried a sign that said, “No Redistricting In MO. No Gerrymandering in MO.”
“My main concern is that we end up with a totally imbalanced legislature,” Waechter said. “And that’s not acceptable. It’s not fair and equitable.
“Fair representation has nothing to do with why they did this. It’s just the opposite.”
He said, however, that with the GOP stronghold in the Missouri Legislature, “a snowball’s got a better chance in hell than for Kehoe to reverse this.”
“How would it not pass? When you’ve got a bunch of trained lapdogs waiting to do their king’s bidding, what else would you expect?”
Previous reporting by Kacen Bayless contributed to this article.
This story was originally published September 1, 2025 at 6:06 PM.
