After a week of protests, Kansas City is still not a safe place for African Americans
Last week, Kansas City citizens were tear gassed, pepper sprayed and roughed up by police officers who had pledged to protect and serve our community.
Social media was flooded with images of Kansas City police officers using tear gas and pepper spray on peaceful protesters at a rally against police brutality at the Country Club Plaza.
The days that followed brought a dizzying sequence of events in Kansas City, as peaceful demonstrators continued to protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin; the police department eventually changed course and began using de-escalation tactics; and a few long-overdue reforms were announced.
There were glimmers of progress.
But after more than a week of protests, is Kansas City a safer place for black people and other minorities to live?
My answer is a resounding no.
Decades of mistreatment cannot be erased in a matter of days. And discrimination against black and brown people has been ingrained in this system for decades.
There is so much more work to do.
The many shortcomings that have long plagued the Kansas City Police Department — including the lack of transparency and accountability, an adversarial relationship with much of the community and the absence of local control — remain. Little will change until the department is accountable to local elected officials and an independent civilian review board with substantial legal authority is in place.
Reforms are supposedly coming.
On Wednesday, the department secured a $2.5 million grant from the DeBruce Foundation to purchase body cameras for officers. A permanent funding source has not been identified.
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners also ordered Police Chief Rick Smith to review the use of tear gas and other projectiles during the protests. Other accountability measures have been promised.
The question is, what took so long?
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has publicly supported Smith. Privately, Lucas fumed at police use of tear gas and pepper spray.
Twice last week, officers set off tear gas after Lucas posed for pictures with rally-goers. Outrage followed.
“We don’t need them to take photos,” community organizer Justice Horn told me. “We need them to change policy and do their jobs.”
An apology from Smith for the department’s heavy-handed tactics has yet to materialize.
Tension in heart of the Plaza
Night after night, I have witnessed young people such as 20-year-old Lauren Graves of Kansas City fight for their right to be heard as tensions simmered between protesters and law enforcement officials.
A diverse coalition of young people with something important to say converged at the protests, undaunted by what had transpired in Kansas City during the first few days of civil unrest.
“Stop killing us,” some chanted. “Black Lives Matter,” others yelled.
Police had ordered the group to clear the intersection of 47th Street and J.C. Nichols Parkway. Repeated instructions to stand on the sidewalk were ignored.
“No,” Graves said. “We’re not moving. We’re staying right here.”
Folks were mad as hell and wanted to be heard.
“The people hold the power,” Graves told me. “The police are not the ones who are in charge. They serve us.”
Some implored police to listen to them and to pray with them.
Officers were asked to take a knee in a show of solidarity. A few did. Most refused to break from the line. Tensions eased once police fell back.
Joileeah Worley, 20, of Kansas City, was not impressed by the department’s new and improved strategy.
“This could have happened a long time ago,” she said.
And it should have. Many of the law enforcement reforms that are finally getting a serious look have been under discussion for decades. Yet somehow, it was never quite the right time to make changes that were so clearly needed.
As we’ve seen over the last week, dismantling the status quo isn’t easy. The system is still broken.
But the protesters are going to keep demanding change. And what I witnessed on the front line of nightly protests gives me hope.
