On The Vine: Powerful KC tenants group gets a new leader and it’s perfect timing
I always say that timing is everything. I think Tara Raghuveer, a founder of KC Tenants, understands that better than most.
This week, Raghuveer, who has been the face and name of the member-led tenant union that took Kansas City by storm at its launch seven years ago, announced she was passing the reins to a fellow KC Tenants leader who has been in the proverbial trenches, winning one renters’ battle after another with Raghuveer and others from the beginning.
Given all the change for the good this group has brought to the Kansas City area, I don’t think there is any better time than now for Raghuveer to step away from the local leadership role to focus on a national role as director of the Tenant Union Federation, a new alliance of tenant unions across the country.
With affordability, especially housing affordability, at the top of the nation’s political conversation, I’d say this appears to be a perfect moment to grow the tenants’ rights movement nationally.
In a column by my colleague David Hudnall, he talks about many of the victories the yellow-shirt-wearing KC Tenants members have seen in what a New York Times article described as their “Rent Revolution.” Wins Hudnall points to include securing Kansas City’s right-to-counsel program and the launch of a political arm that put forth a slate of initially unknown figures as City Council candidates. The fledgling political force landed one seat and came darn close to winning a second.
I got to know Raghuveer over the years, particularly when she and KC Tenants led the fight against the Jackson County Legislature over the eviction of tenants at a Kansas City trailer park picked as the site of the new county jail.
I was covering the story as a writer for The Star Editorial Board. Raghuveer was my contact. She introduced me to trailer park residents who she said were being mistreated, misled and robbed of their homes by the Legislature. In the end, all those tenants, some renters and some homeowners, were fairly compensated by the government. That was another one of the many wins that might not have happened if it weren’t for the tenacity of Raghuveer and the KC Tenants crew.
Sometime after that particular KC Tenants success, I was at a karaoke birthday party in the Westport area where Raghuveer, a friend of the birthday honoree, grabbed the mic to sing a popular — and fan favorite for the young folks in the room — rap song. Her timing was impeccable. She didn’t miss one beat.
Knowing what I do about Raghuveer, she is leaving this Kansas City group in the best of hands. Jenay Manley, a KC Tenants organizer who worked alongside Raghuveer, is picking up the baton to lead the organization. Of course, Raghuveer knows it’s the exact right time for Manley, who in 2023 ran for City Council, to be out front.
So, I’d say little will likely change here except who’s at the helm. But I expect the grassroots community warriors behind KC Tenants’ power will be no less dynamic in their ongoing fight for safe, accessible and truly affordable housing than they’ve been for the last seven years. Maybe more so, given the momentum the organization has mounted.
Off The Vine
- Below are stories about culture and identity from communities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Go here to find more from Star reporter J.M. Banks.
- Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne will return to the stage this spring for a national tour alongside Bay Area hip-hop veteran E-40. The two will co-headline the Strange Wid’ It Tour, a monthlong run across North America, concluding in Kansas City on May 24 at the Midland Theatre. Banks has all the details here.
- Black fashion innovators are making a big splash in Kansas City and shaping what local fashionistas wear and buy. Meet some of these prolific fashion designers and find out about their looks and what inspires them.
Around The Vine
- Music lover and local philanthropist Benny Lee has a book out about his journey to Kansas City. On Saturday, March 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. he is presenting a lecture and concert presented by The Museum of Kansas City, 3218 Gladstone Blvd. Tickets are available here.
- It’s a family affair. The Black Family Wellness Expo, presented by the Jackson County chapter of The Links Incorporated, takes place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 21 at Morning Star Youth & Family Life Center at 2525 E. 27th St.
- Experience a night of Latin music high above the city on an enclosed rooftop (17th floor), with a spectacular views of Kansas City. 7:30 p.m. on March 27 at the Manhattan, 700 East 8th Street, Kansas City.
Vine Picks
- President and CEO of The Urban League of Greater Kansas City, Gwen Grant, announced her retirement this week. I talked with her about her life and journey from growing up in Kansas City’s Eastside and becoming one of the most influential voices on social justice in the city. Read that story here.
- Legislation that would transfer the ownership of the Shawnee Indian Mission historic site in Johnson County to a Native American nation is stalled for the fourth time after a different tribe lays a claim to the site. Star reporters Taylor O’Connor and Matthew Kelly suss out the details.
- As talk swirls about new data centers moving into the Kansas City area, residents worry the influx could drive up their home energy bills. But Evergy tells them not to worry. Reporter Jenna Ebbers tells us why that is.
Your voice matters to us. What local issues do you want to hear discussed in On The Vine? Let me, Mará Rose Williams, The Star’s senior opinion columnist, know directly at mdwilliams@kcstar.com. Thank you for reading.
