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A new solution will address Kansas City’s lack of disability-accessible housing
The Center for Developmentally Disabled is building four-bedroom family houses across Kansas City that are designed to help people with disabilities live with greater independence. The new homes will include automatic doors. The ceilings will be outfitted with lift and track systems to make it easier for a caretaker to get someone with limited mobility […]
Trans women of color and the Kansas City Police Department’s rocky, violent history
Four years ago, a viral video showed two Kansas City police officers slamming a Black transgender woman, Brianna BB Hill, onto the sidewalk, kneeling on her in the face, torso and ribs and forcing her cuffed hands above her head. In the time since, the officers pleaded guilty to third-degree assault. And Hill was shot […]
What you need to know about the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City
Kansas City is down to the final details of its ambitious effort to host this year’s NFL Draft, an event that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to its main downtown site and other events around the area for three days beginning April 27. A giant stage is under construction in front […]
Kansas City service workers push for protections as Royals look to build downtown stadium
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Bill Thompson cooks at a fast-food restaurant, shares a car with his wife and helps care for an older family member. He’s got a lot to manage, but Thompson has found time to attend “listening sessions” that the Kansas City Royals have organized to discuss […]
The NFL Draft is coming to Kansas City in April, along with thousands of visitors
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Football excitement in Kansas City won’t be over once the confetti gets vacuumed up after the Chiefs victory parade on Wednesday. In a little more than two months, Kansas City will host the 2023 National Football League Draft, an extravaganza that organizers predict will draw more visitors […]
As new KCI terminal nears completion, concessions and airport employers seek more workers
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Sandy Cisneros has a retail job in Liberty where she makes $15 an hour. But the mother of two children was looking for something that would offer more hours, better pay and a more flexible schedule. After showing up at a Jan. 23 hiring fair […]
How investments in Black businesses can help close KC’s racial wealth gap
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. When Denisha Jones launched her business, Sweet Peaches Cobblers, in August 2020, it was just her, her husband and her mom in a community kitchen — taking orders, making the cobblers and doing deliveries. Now she has a team of individuals helping her sell cobblers in […]
Spotlight is on Kansas City and its problem of missing black women
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. On Oct. 7, a terrified 22-year-old Black woman escaped from a home in Excelsior Springs. She told police she had been locked up there for about a month, after being abducted from Prospect Avenue in Kansas City by a man who lives in the home. […]
Rideshare drivers in Kansas City’s gig market want more protections from companies
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. April Shabazz began driving for Uber full time this summer. The job wasn’t new for her. Rideshare driving had been her side gig for three years, along with work as a tax preparer. Shabazz, a member of Stand Up KC and the Missouri Workers Center, likes Uber’s flexible […]
The fight for a living wage in Kansas City no longer stops at $15 an hour
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. For years, Kansas City workers and organizers have fought to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. The demand was front and center recently when workers at the Taco Bell fast-food restaurant on Wornall Road in Kansas City’s Waldo neighborhood held a walkout over claims […]
Zero bus fare does not equal easy commutes for Kansas City riders
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. On weekdays, Melissa Douds catches the 35th Street bus at 5:48 a.m. to get to her job as a facility worker at the Bartle Hall Convention Center. Starting at the Armour and Gillham stop in Hyde Park, she is only seven minutes from work by […]
A Missouri council is looking to combat school-to-prison pipeline for students with disabilities
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Studies show that students of color and students with disabilities are suspended and referred to police more often than their peers in schools across Missouri. This disproportionate rate of discipline can disrupt their education and push these students into the criminal justice system. A new Missouri grant […]