‘A memorial to hatred’: Lee’s Summit should rename streets honoring racist former mayor
Lee’s Summit has long celebrated the civic leadership of Todd George, naming not one, but two roads for the former mayor and Jackson County treasurer.
One problem: George was a racist who wore his hatred on his sleeve, casually using racial slurs, arguing against equality and writing about the “distinct bodily odor” of “the typical real negro.”
Now, at a moment when our communities are wrestling with important questions about combating racism and are reconsidering the historical figures we choose to honor, removing the name of Todd George Parkway and Todd George Road from street signs in Lee’s Summit should be an easy call.
George, a Kentucky-born realtor and insurance executive, was elected Lee’s Summit mayor and Jackson County treasurer in 1916.
In a 1962 handwritten letter to then-Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett, a Southern Democrat who supported racial segregation, George explained his opposition to integration and the fight for civil rights.
“Millions of qualified citizens here in our U.S.A. are about fed up with the powers of our federal government encouraging n----r freedom riders to go South,” George wrote.
Groups have organized a petition to have Todd George Parkway renamed. The city’s Human Relations Commission will soon recommend that the City Council consider removing George’s name from signs.
City officials should start the process immediately and seek public input.
“It’s the right time and the right thing to do,” human relations commissioner Karen Schuler said.
A staunch supporter of the Confederacy, George made no secret of his contempt for Black people.
“To all of us that know the typical real negro always carried a very distinct bodily odor not common in any other race,” George wrote in a 1959 essay titled, “On the Alert.”
The four-page missive was recently discovered in the archives of the Missouri State Historical Society. George expressed indefensible views on race, slavery, integration and white supremacy.
His rant included hate-filled rhetoric such as: “Our present negro population is demanding social equality in every private or public operation whether his presence is desired or not.”
Supporters insist that George should be remembered for his good deeds. He donated land to Jackson County and was a civic leader in Lee’s Summit.
“Personally, I would like to see the road remain,” grandson Todd Dicus told The Star Editorial Board.
While reports that George was a local leader of the Ku Klux Klan were a matter of some debate, his belief in a racist ideology was indisputable.
“My father and some of his brothers, having served three years as officers in the Confederate armies, and from my very youth lived for more than four generations in that atmosphere of southern sympathies and proud ancestry, can ever accept them as our social equal,” George wrote about Black people in “On the Alert.”
Todd George is no longer a road, as Schuler said. It’s a memorial to hatred and bigotry.
The community is watching. How will the City Council and Mayor Bill Baird respond?
A citywide diversity and inclusion commission will address systemic issues in Lee’s Summit, Baird said. The next move is up to the council.
“Todd George did align his views with the Confederacy as late as the 1960s,” Baird told The Star Editorial Board. “He was trying to take us backward in the fight for social equity and social justice.”
We’ve reached an inflection point in our efforts to tackle racism and inequality. Does Lee’s Summit want to move forward? Renaming streets that honor a racist would be a start.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.