• Home
  • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
  • Contact

JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Former Star executives and managers seeking unpaid “supplemental” pension benefits
“I jumped back into bed it was the middle of the ni-i-ight!” — and other great Oldies »

Taking stock on three big issues…

June 22, 2020 by jimmycsays

Now that an initial outburst of racial-equality protests has passed, it’s a good time to assess the status of three big issues in Kansas City: the push to rename the Nichols Fountain and Nichols Parkway; the calls for Police Chief Rick Smith to resign; and the prospect of local control of KCPD.

Let’s start with the issue where we are most likely to see change…

J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain

We won’t be seeing that name on that fountain much longer. In fact, it will probably be gone on June 30, the day the Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners will next meet in regular session to consider board member Chris Goode’s proposal to change the name to Dream Fountain.

Chris Goode

It’s a bit troubling, however, that in the face of opposition from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Goode quickly backed off his proposal to rename the nearby parkway Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The way things are shaping up, the parkway could end up reverting to its pre-Nichols name, Mill Creek Parkway.

The SCLC says the parkway is not big enough, long enough or important enough to bear the King name. At least one park board member favors putting the King name on Linwood Boulevard, which stretches from Van Brunt Boulevard on the east to Broadway on the west, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the board ultimately go that route.

The fountain situation is less muddy, and I hope Goode holds his ground. “Dream Fountain” is perfect, as I see it. It works in a linear way, alluding to Dr. King’s most famous speech, and laterally, reflecting timeless human aspirations to personal and social betterment.

If Goode pushes as strongly on June 30 for the change to Dream Fountain as he did the day he formally introduced the proposal on June 9, I believe it will pass unanimously. Goode emerged as a park board and community force with his bold proposal, and now I hope he doesn’t screw it up by equivocating.

(A public, online hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday on the renaming issue. For more details, look here.)

Police Chief Rick Smith

Momentum to force Smith to resign has slowed considerably during the last week.

The man should go, but propping him up is a ridiculous, outdated governance system that prevents elected city officials from holding him or the department accountable.

Among other reasons Smith is unacceptable:

— At least two times, he has not cooperated with Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker on investigations into allegations of police officers using excessive force.

— He has dragged his feet on approving the purchase of body cameras for patrol officers.

— The Kansas City Star reported recently that in 2017 (perhaps the last full year for which statistics were available), the police department’s homicide-clearance rate was 51 percent, compared to 60 percent nationally.

— As of Saturday, Kansas City had 88 homicides this year. If that pace holds, we would surpass Kansas City’s record year for homicides, 2017, when we had 155 murders. As far as I know, the police department has come up with no particular strategy or plan to counter the homicide rate.

In addition, Smith simply is not reform minded, and he looked out of step the way he responded to the recent protests…For example, when he and Mayor Quinton Lucas took a knee in memory of George Floyd near the Nichols Fountain, Smith couldn’t keep his eyes down and head still.

I was hopeful that calls for Smith’s resignation would accelerate after a coalition consisting of the Urban League, the NAACP and MORE2 demanded on June 3 that he resign. Last week, the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime joined in the call, but a wave has failed to materialize.

The Star’s editorial board has questioned if Smith is the right person to be in charge now, but, regrettably, it has not come straight out and called for his resignation. Same with Quinton Lucas; he’s AWOL.

Local control

I could start this paragraph the way I started the last one: “I was hopeful…”

The statement from the Urban League, NAACP and MORE2 packed a one-two punch — out with Smith and in with local control.

Depressingly, a wave has not materialized on the local control issue, either.

A successful push for local control would require a Phil-Spector-like wall of sound from a wide range of groups and institutions, including the City Council, the Civic Council, the Chamber of Commerce and The Star.

Once again, though, the pivotal person is Quinton Lucas. And, just as on the issue of Smith staying or leaving — Lucas is AWOL.

My pre-mayoral-election concerns about Lucas are coming to pass: He’s indecisive and in the grip of the interest groups that helped get him where he is, including the police union, the fire fighters union and the development crowd.

I don’t know if Jolie Justus, the candidate I backed, would have had the courage to stand up to the developers, or to the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, or to Local 99 of the F.O.P., or to Local 42 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, but I’d sure like to see what she would have done in this situation.

…Before the Urban League coalition came out with its statement, political activist and analyst Clinton Adams sent me a text calling Lucas “duplicitous” and “a feckless wimp.”

I asked him if I could quote him on that, and, in typical Adams fashion, he readily agreed. Nevertheless, I was hesitant to use the term “wimp” — thinking Lucas just might need a few days to summon his courage — so I used the adjectives “duplicitous” and “feckless” and left out the wimp part.

It was a mistake; he is a wimp. And it looks like his shaky hand will be on the helm for another seven years.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

12 Responses

  1. on June 22, 2020 at 8:23 am Sarah

    Virtual meeting Jun 24 on removing Nichols’ name from the pkwy and fountain. https://kclibrary.org/signature-events/kc-parks-engage-reexamining-jc-nichols


    • on June 22, 2020 at 8:43 am jimmycsays

      Thanks, Sarah. I just added that link to the post. Oddly, the Parks Dept. website doesn’t seem to have that information yet, but KCPL does. Hard to beat the library.)


  2. on June 22, 2020 at 8:30 am tracyinkc

    It should be called SCREAM Fountain, because that is what every protestor does there…for every cause.


    • on June 22, 2020 at 8:46 am jimmycsays

      How about twin fountains — Dream and Scream? That should satisfy most of the people most of the time.


  3. on June 22, 2020 at 9:40 am Vern Barnet

    The fountain again. Please look at the violence and brutality of the sculptures and tell me why they should be associated with the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. Here are a couple images: https://www.cres.org/fountain.htm .


    • on June 22, 2020 at 10:02 am jimmycsays

      I didn’t get by to see the fountain since your previous comment on this, Vern, but those images are troubling. There’s nothing abut them that reflects peaceful resistance or non-violence. What King stood for and what these images depict are certainly antithetical, and it’s troubling. I hope you have spoken or will speak at one of the park board hearings; you’ve got a point that warrants consideration and reflection.

      The only thing I can say to defend the proposed renaming is that Goode is right when he says this is Kansas City’s most prominent fountain, and King deserves top of the line. I guess we could rename the Sea Horse Fountain, in my neighborhood, in honor of King, but I don’t think it would have the same impact as this fountain, which is seen by tens of thousands of local people and visitors every year.


  4. on June 22, 2020 at 10:13 am John Altevogt

    In recent days vandals have damaged the statute to Stevie Ray Vaughn, Ulysses S. Grant, the statue dedicated to the black civil war regiment made famous in the movie Glory, a couple of abolitionists, Francis Scott Key, Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson.

    While the alleged motivation was destroying monuments to racists, it’s clear from the carnage that the real motivation is to trash any and all references to American history positive or negative.

    Nichols, Washington, Jefferson, Grant were, as we all are, creatures of their time, with all our biases and prejudices. To assess them by a completely different set of cultural norms is asinine. Nichols was a giant of a man whose accomplishments dwarf those of some meaningless functionary of an equally meaningless committee.

    That said, I agree with Tracy, particularly after the Council’s idiotic decision to encourage further violence and looting on the Plaza by dropping the charges on those recently arrested there, let’s call it Scream Fountain as we watch the area descend into yet another urban wasteland and monument to political stupidity and gutlessness.


    • on June 22, 2020 at 10:47 am jimmycsays

      From the beginning of this, on June 3, I have said some legacies grow with time (Lincoln, Truman, King, for example), and others shrink. That of J.C. is about the fastest-shrinking one I’ve ever seen. Steve Kraske first and courageously raised the issue three years ago, and in today’s climate those restrictive covenants are just decimating. Yes, he might have been “a product of his time,” but he didn’t have to be; he could have been well ahead of his time. But he wasn’t…

      Thanks for the Plaza, J.C., and thanks for the nice houses and mini shopping districts every four blocks, but you contributed mightily to racism in Kansas City. Now your name is mud.


  5. on June 22, 2020 at 10:49 am Bill Stilley

    Jim, as you probably know I am more of a status quo person. For a long time I have felt the police board was an effective governing body and not necessarily subject to political pressures (although they are appointed by governors). But the reason this was a reform for the Kansas City Police was because of boss power, most notably Tom Pendergast. I think after 80 years of being free from bossism it is pretty well established that it will not return. Now it is time to have local control. It is not fair that the board sets the budget and the city council has to allocate the funds. A downside to this is there will be the constant fight between the Fire Department over funding and with the Police Department. One is going to suffer from time to time to fulfill council and mayoral promises.
    What I do not want is defunding the police or sharply decreasing the force. Anarchism will break out over night. Reform the department but don’t go overboard with defunding because of the terrible consequences this would bring.

    I am not in touch with Kansas City enough to comment whether Rick Smith should stay or go. I just see the protesters signs and read your blogs. There probably are systemic problems, not just with racism, but structure and commands that regardless of the chief will be mountains to overcome.

    Dream Fountain sounds appropriate. Perhaps Linwood Blvd is the right road to rename.

    I think that Mayor Lucas has handled the Covid-19 pandemic very well. At first the counties and cities looked to him for setting the guidelines and lockdowns. But then politics seemed to interfere and he was no longer listened to on re-opening, making him look like is some draconian mayor. I think he has done the best he can (as he has limited authority) in handling the calls for justice and the protests. My pastor has really high regard for him and marched with him. Maybe he is not a “knock-down, drag-out fighter” like some would want him to be, but that does not seem to be his nature. I think he is trying to be a peace builder between the black community and the white community.


    • on June 22, 2020 at 12:15 pm jimmycsays

      Excellent, measured comment, Bill, and good, concise history of the roots of state control and why that is no longer necessary.

      Like you, I think Lucas’ handling of the COVID-19 precautions has been very good, and, as I said on at least one other post, he was the right person to be mayor during the protests. Interaction with people, absorbing grievances and salving civic wounds seem to be his forte.

      And while he has taken the lead on getting Nichols’ name off the fountain, that’s a pretty easy call politically because it’s not going to piss off large segments of his constituency. But calling for the chief to go and pushing for local control are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to political courage and conviction — because of the Big Two unions — and I think he’s sorely lacking there. Maybe he will prove me wrong, but if I hold my breath, I think I’m going to pass out.


  6. on June 23, 2020 at 12:45 pm Rick Nichols

    I’m pretty much on board with John here. If we are basically going to demand perfection of those who are to be honored with a statue, then we will have no statues in this country. Even MLK Jr. was a flawed individual and in view of that, perhaps he is not deserving of having The Paseo or even the less prestigious Linwood Boulevard renamed after him. I have a compromise “solution” I stole from someone else – how about leaving these monuments, statues and street names in place and adding to them the necessary contextual information about these individuals and the times in which they lived that might help those of all races better understand the history of this country, a country we all call home. You know, make the whole thing truly a learning experience – what a novel concept! Our Ship of State may have already hit the iceberg like the Titanic did, so taking down all of the statues someone finds offensive and renaming all of the streets and towns (e.g., Columbus, Ohio) whose names someone objects to, may amount to nothing more than rearranging the furniture on the deck of the ship at this point. I’m not interested in superficial changes of a physical nature in dealing with the problems we face in this country. I’m interested in internal personal changes, which come about only as one spends the necessary time examining his or her own heart in the mirror and responding accordingly as convicted of the need to change by a Higher Power.


  7. on June 26, 2020 at 1:42 am Edward E Scott

    No “historian” will ever have the last word.



Comments are closed.

  • Pages

    • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
    • Contact
  • Archives

    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 562 other subscribers

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Join 562 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: