‘Representation matters.’ Branson’s first Black alderwoman is KCK native, Cerner alum
When Mayor Edd Akers and the Branson Board of Aldermen were looking to fill a vacancy on the board, one candidate stood out.
Julia King, a Branson transplant from Kansas City, Kansas, would bring a female perspective to an otherwise all-male board. And Akers said the body, which tends to be older, will benefit from having a younger voice in the 37-year-old King.
“I include myself in that. I’m 77,” he said. “The fact that she happened to be a person of color was just another additional thing we saw.”
King, who spent nine years working for healthcare IT firm Cerner Corp., said she is honored to be the first Black member of the board that governs the southwest Missouri tourist town.
She doesn’t have a long to-do list in her new post: she said she wouldn’t have moved to the Ozarks community in recent years if she felt it needed major changes. She said she and her husband chose to live in Branson because of its mix of outdoor recreation and entertainment options.
“I fell in love with the place. It was beautiful,” she said. “We don’t have a ton of things that need to be revamped.”
But she is well aware that she enters local politics at a time of major division for Branson: On July 28, the board implemented a mask mandate as local coronavirus cases spiked — a decision that was reached after city leaders heard more than eight hours of community discussion, mostly in opposition to the order.
Earlier in the summer, the community was embroiled in controversy as Black Lives Matter protesters targeted Dixie Outfitters, a store selling Confederate flag merchandise along the town’s tourism strip.
“It’s very trying for Branson right now,” King said.
Akers said he wanted to find someone who could jump right in and get to work. And he said he found that in King, who was sworn in Tuesday night.
“She loves to work and has a good work ethic. She loves to serve people and get things done,” he said. “Her background and experience brings a unique perspective to us.”
King said she hopes to be a unifying force on the board. She said she expects that she and other board members will set an example by working together cooperatively.
“I believe it’s going to send a message of inclusion and unity and acceptance,” she said. “It starts with us listening to one another, developing relationships with one another and understanding that none of us are each other’s enemy.”
Akers said King stood out in a field of qualified applicants. He and a panel of former and current elected officials met with candidates who applied to fill the vacancy left when Alderman Kevin McConnell resigned. That committee unanimously selected King, whose appointment was unanimously approved by the Board of Aldermen during a special meeting on August 11.
The mayor said he was drawn to her selfless demeanor and willingness to serve the community. Plus, her professional experience in healthcare will be an asset to the city, he said.
She is a graduate of Piper High School and Baker University. She worked for Cerner for nine years before moving on to Healthcare Performance Group, where she’s been a project manager since 2015. She oversees the implementation of software projects for hospitals.
That experience has helped shape her views on the pandemic. She supports the aldermen’s vote to require face coverings in most of Branson’s public places. That order is set to expire September 8 unless the board extends it.
“It’s impossible for me not to support any national health leaders and their recommendations,” she said.
This summer, as protests rose up across the country to denounce the police killing of George Floyd, demonstrators in Branson focused on Dixie Outfitters. But it wasn’t just the Confederate flags people were opposed to: One of the store’s owners is Nathan Robb, the son of Thomas Robb, an Arkansas-based pastor who assumed leadership of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s following the departure of David Duke.
Peaceful protesters were met by supporters of the store, who draped themselves in Confederate flags and played songs like “Song of the South” and “Sweet Home Alabama” over loudspeakers. The issue was never on a city agenda, but many demonstrators showed up to the Board of Aldermen demanding removal of the store — or at least its Confederate flags — from the town’s tourism district.
King said the Confederate flag has become a symbol of hate and division.
“It’s not a flag that welcomes all people to Branson,” she said. “It does not send the message or create the perception that Branson is a safe, family-friendly town for everyone.”
Only about 4% of Branson residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. King said she has felt welcome in the area. And she wants everyone else to have the same experience.
“We don’t need to spew hate. We don’t need to demonize each other,” she said. “I am a Black woman. My life matters. My husband is white. His life matters. Our family is both black and white. We have friends in law enforcement. Their lives matter, too. When anybody is treated unfairly, it’s everybody’s responsibility to stop it.”
While she hopes to build consensus and work together with the aldermen on the board, King believes she will offer a new viewpoint to the body.
“I will bring a unique perspective, maybe a fresh look or a modern approach to the problems we solve,” she said.
On Tuesday evening, King was sworn in at the beginning of the two-hour meeting. She was greeted by a round of applause from the audience and a standing ovation from the aldermen on the dais before they started moving down the agenda.
King asked questions about cost overruns at the town’s under-construction aquarium and prodded a developer about the location of a proposed affordable housing project.
Early on, during the public comment portion of the meeting, a Black woman approached the podium and read Tupac Shakur’s poem, “The Rose That Grew From Concrete.”
She spoke directly to King.
“I’m glad that you’re here,” the woman said. “Representation matters.”
