As COVID-19 rages, Kansas City must help keep the most vulnerable in their homes
On April 4, 1967, one year before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a time to break the silence about injustice in society, proclaiming, “We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.” He further declared that silence was betrayal, and the truth must be told.
Almost 53 years after King’s clarion call to break the silence, the state of a Missouri finds herself deep in a moral crisis. Poverty and inequities still surround us. Following the moral traditions rooted in our faith and the Constitution, we are called to stand up for justice and tell the truth. The issues confronting the working poor more than half a century ago remain acute problems that leave families living in fear. We can no longer ignore the needs of the poor in this state.
As the federal eviction moratorium ends, along with expanded unemployment benefits, experts estimate more than 17 million tenants across the country — 361,000 of them in Missouri — are at risk of eviction as a result of job loss. Kansas City, like other cities across America, is suffering from a triple pandemic of systemic racism, poverty and COVID-19, in which Black and brown communities are disproportionately impacted. This is white supremacy at work. The lack of government protection during this triple pandemic is an all-out attack against the humanity of the working poor of our city.
This is not the time to push the most vulnerable — our women, children and elderly — into the streets with no protection from COVID-19. Let’s be clear that the eviction of our residents into the streets of Kansas City is a death sentence for a large population of our Black, brown and poor brothers and sisters.
We believe the issue before us today is not a right or left issue. Rather, this is an issue of moral integrity. This is an issue of right versus wrong. Therefore we are calling on Jackson County Circuit Court Judge David Byrn to reinstate a moratorium on all evictions for six months starting immediately. We are also calling on Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council to prioritize prevention programs — such as rent relief to property owners if they cancel rent and do not pursue eviction — that would keep tenants in their homes and safe.
As residents of Kansas City, we must stand together on behalf of all Kansas City tenants. It is morally unacceptable that in the midst of a triple pandemic of systemic racism, poverty and COVID-19, when the best treatment for public and individual health is to stay home, our neighbors are cast out into the street.
Let us remember that God judges nations, states and cities on how they care for and treat the poor. Heed the words of the prophet Isaiah: Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims, laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, expanding defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? What good will your money do you?
The Rev. Dr. Rodney E. Williams is president of the Kansas City Chapter of the NAACP.
Lifting Black KC Voices
This is an installment in our project, Lifting Black KC Voices. We’ve asked African Americans from a variety of walks of life to share their experiences about the lives of Black Kansas Citians, with an eye toward the future we will all build together.
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "As COVID-19 rages, Kansas City must help keep the most vulnerable in their homes."