‘Robbed of more than monetary value’: Black youth-owned store in KC suffers theft
The metal hooks on a pegboard that covers the majority of a wall at One Pair KC, a Black youth-owned shoe and clothing store in Kansas City, are bare.
So too are the storage cubes and clothing rack towards the front of the store at 5511 Troost Ave.
Earlier this week, thieves stole the entire inventory of the store, which is run by teenagers and is a place where they buy, sell, clean and customize shoes. It also has six different local clothing lines and an education center.
“They were able to get through the back door and just wipe us out clean,” said founder and co-owner Jerren Thornhill. “They took everything.”
The thieves struck Tuesday night and forced their way into backdoor by using a crowbar to pull it down. They stole all of the store’s shoes, the local clothing lines and other things like paint that the teens use. About $50,000 in merchandise was taken.
The thieves also took customers’ shoes that the store was cleaning and customizing. To recover from the crime, the store has set up a page on the fundraising site GoFundMe.
“We were robbed of more than monetary value,” KJ Farmer, the organizer of the fundraiser and co-owner of the store, wrote. “Our livelihood was taken from us too. This store was for the community and it hurts to see what we created taken away so carelessly.”
Farmer said that those involved in One Pair KC worked hard to provide a space for Kansas City’s youth, pouring countless hours and their souls into creating the business.
“Help us build our dream back up and keep inner city youth off the street,” Farmer said. “Everyone wants a chance and One Pair was that chance.”
By Thursday afternoon, the store had raised nearly $10,500 of its $40,000 goal.
On the fundraising page, Farmer highlighted the store’s achievements in the past year including its education center, which was built during the pandemic for kids who lacked such resources as WiFi for schoolwork and tutoring.
“We offered a place where they can feel safe and know that someone cares,” Farmer said. The store has also given away more than 100 pairs of shoes to the community as part of its outreach.
Thornhill said that the upcoming anniversary is one of the things that hurts the most about the theft. The store launched on Black Friday of last year during the middle of the pandemic.
They had been working hard all year, through the ups and downs, and it was taken right before they were about to celebrate.
“Not what they took, but to know where we got to and just to be taken from us,” Thornhill said.
The reason he created One Pair, he said, was to use it as a platform for others. Growing up, all he wanted was a chance. He sees One Pair as a way to give others that chance.
“It’s not just a shoe store,” he said. “It’s a platform where you can turn your hustles into a corporation.”
Thornhill said he was astonished and in disbelief when he found out about the theft.
“I was hurt at first,” he said. “The kids were hurt. But all we can do is look forward, and I tell them that, and grow from these situations.”
While they are still trying figure out how recover from the theft, Thornhill said that for now, he’s providing a “shoulder for the boys” to lean on and someone to talk to.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 2:58 PM.
