KC reparations group raises funds for documentary alongside upcoming study
Kansas City’s reparations movement is moving ahead on two fronts, one rooted in community storytelling, the other in formal policy research. Both share a single aim: to educate the public on reparations and determine what repair looks like for Black Kansas Citians.
On one side the KC Reparations Coalition is preparing to launch a six-month public education campaign and raise $50,000 for a documentary that will confront misconceptions about reparations.
On the other side is the Mayor’s Commission on Reparations, an appointed city body conducting a study on how decades of city policies harmed Black residents and what can be done to address those harms.
Though often mistaken as one organization, the two operate independently.
“It’s really a problem because most people don’t know that,” said Terri Bradshaw, a member of the Mayor’s Commission. “They think they’re one and the same, but they’re really different. The good news is we partner well together and are aware of each other’s work.”
The coalition began as a grassroots effort to mobilize public support for reparations and keep the issue visible. This month, the group will celebrate its five-year anniversary with a free event at Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, 3700 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd., marking the start of its education campaign.
Members like Janay Reliford think education about what reparations actually is should be the first thing that is done.
“There are just too many people of all nationalities, even African American, who just don’t know,” said Reliford. They don’t understand reparations. They don’t know what it is. They don’t know what it’s not.”
To rectify that the coalition is creating a locally-focused documentary tracing the history of enslavement in Missouri and Kansas City and documenting the community’s modern-day efforts toward repair.
“One of the best ways to educate is through documentaries and we want to make a local film on the history of enslavement in the nation, the city, the state of Missouri and how our work led to the commission,” Reliford said.
Funds raised during the coalition’s campaign will go toward film production and outreach. The campaign will serve as the kickoff to what Reliford calls a “reparations education movement.”
While the coalition focuses on hearts and minds, the city’s reparations commission is concentrating on data and accountability.
Created in 2023 through a city ordinance, the commission’s task is to examine five areas of historical harm, economics, housing, education, health and criminal justice and recommend ways to repair and prevent further damage.
“Our mission is to look at the city’s policies and practices, go back and take a look at how decisions were made and what had a lasting effect on our community,” said Bradshaw. “Our work will ultimately be a proposal back to the city that says in these five areas, this is where the city has been culpable, and here are the things we believe the city needs to do to repair the harm.”
The commission hired the Carter Development Group, a Florida-based research firm with five Kansas City-based members and a partnership with University of Missouri-Kansas City to lead the study.
“There’s not a lot of people out here that have done reparations work or reparations research,” Bradshaw said. “It was their multidisciplinary approach and deep relationships in our harm areas that set them apart.”
The city allocated $350,000 for the study, short of the $510,000 requested. Of that, $330,000 goes to the Carter team, while $20,000 remains with the commission for marketing and administrative needs.
Bradshaw said she hopes additional funding from the next city budget or local foundations will help both efforts. The coalition’s education drive complements the commission’s research by preparing the community to understand and support whatever proposals eventually emerge.
“We really don’t want it to be the city council’s decision,” Bradshaw said. “We really want the public to be supportive of the proposals we put forward.”
