Mará Rose Williams’ new role at The KC Star: Fulfill our mission of equity and trust
I will never forget that 2021 phone call from the national opinion editor for McClatchy, The Kansas City Star’s parent company. “I’d like to offer you a position on The Star’s editorial board,” Peter St. Onge told me. And I could hear the satisfaction in his voice. As if he somehow knew he was offering me a dream come true.
To be honest, I kind of expected it, because I’d already heard it might be a possibility. But I learned early in my 40-plus-year career as a newspaper reporter that nothing in the news business — especially in the realm of hiring and promotions — is certain until it is. And since I hadn’t spoken of it, there’s really no way Peter could have known that ever since I was 16, growing up on Long Island, New York, and reading the late Les Payne’s columns in my hometown paper Newsday, that I had always dreamed of becoming an opinion writer. It’s what drew me to journalism in the first place.
To get such an opportunity, to speak boldly in my own voice about key social, cultural and political issues that ignite my passion for fairness, honesty, truth and justice, to probe what really matters to people in Missouri and Kansas communities: It was an honor. Humbling too, but dare I say, earned. I’d gladly worked in the trenches of journalism, honing those skills as an education writer and investigative reporter, for a long time.
For all of those reasons, it wasn’t easy for me to consider stepping away from the editorial board for something new. But when interim Executive Editor Greg Farmer asked me to fill the newly-created position of assistant managing editor for race and equity, I felt the possibilities of such a position deep in my soul. This could be a game changer for The Star to build a more meaningful and trusting relationship with historically marginalized communities in the Kansas City area. No way could I let such a chance pass me by.
In fact, I’d already begun the work. In 2020, I initiated The Star’s “The Truth in Black and white” project apologizing to the city for the paper’s decades of unfair coverage of its Black residents. This new position would give me a bigger role in overseeing the journalism mission The Star adopted after the project was published. That mission is to pump up our coverage of historically marginalized communities, report on them in a more fair and honest way, and work with and within these communities to build a bridge of trust between The Star and the people of this region, our readers.
So yes, that is my new charge. I couldn’t be happier or more excited to face this beautiful challenge. I’ll be working with every team in The Star’s newsroom, helping to build an even more diverse space and perspective.
It’s going to take time connecting with civic leaders at every level, but I’m committed to doing so. There will be a lot of listening to the people’s needs and expectations. And also looking for ways The Star can become more a part of the community — because Kansas City is our home, too, and we want it to be the best it can be.
If we are successful here, our neighbors who’ve felt forgotten or overlooked by the media will come to see themselves more often, and more accurately, portrayed in The Star.
I plan to be out in our neighborhoods meeting and chatting with our city’s local leaders, social justice and human rights advocates, and all-around doers.
I hope I see you there.
