KCRag Forum

phuqueue wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:25 am Totally agree, all those uppity blacks just need to pipe down

Yeah. That's what everyone is saying.

I guess you should at least be commended for making a point in under 1,500 words.

I wasn't responding to "everyone," I was responding to "can't we just give them a puzzle to distract them until this goes away?" by the dude whose only stated reason for opposition was not wanting to learn a new street name. It was a bad post.

phuqueue wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:38 pm I wasn't responding to "everyone," I was responding to "can't we just give them a puzzle to distract them until this goes away?" by the dude whose only stated reason for opposition was not wanting to learn a new street name. It was a bad post.

You read into it what you wanted to read into it. This process has been a shit show - it's fair to criticize it.

Great, criticize it all you want. I don't even have a horse in this race, I'd probably err on the side of "if the community around the street wants to change its name then change it," but it ultimately doesn't make a difference to me. It was still a bad post. I restated it in starker terms than he probably consciously intended when he wrote it, but I wasn't exactly digging deep into subtext. "The process has been a shitshow" is a criticism, "can we please get these people to shut up" is something else.

phuqueue wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:38 pm I wasn't responding to "everyone," I was responding to "can't we just give them a puzzle to distract them until this goes away?" by the dude whose only stated reason for opposition was not wanting to learn a new street name. It was a bad post.

Oh settle down.

I've said before that they should come up with something new and not this lazy, half-assed plan. If they really want to rename Paseo to whatever the fuck they've settled on now, fine. No one will notice, but cool.

Or they could actually come up with something original and new and worthwhile.

I’m for honoring Dr. King in any and every way. The more we are reminded of his legacy and life direction, the better. The part that makes me cringe is that the leaders of the push for name change always talk about using it as a means to get federal funds for development. That just doesn’t sit well with me.

And yeah, let's get rid of this idea that anyone who criticizes this isn't for honoring MLK.

They fell into this ass backwards and don't know how to get out. They should have come up with a plan to honor MLK and the historical KC black leaders and fundraised to do it. Instead, they did whatever this is.

I think I recommended an urban park. Is that a good idea? I dunno, but it's something.

That's why I said give them a puzzle. Out of incompetence, not disrespect.

phuqueue wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 1:52 pm I'd probably err on the side of "if the community around the street wants to change its name then change it,"

According to the City Council meeting: The communities around the street haven’t been asked. There has been no outreach to any of the Paseo adjacent neighborhoods associations and groups. Well besides 1 poorly attended outreach meeting months ago in which the locals opposed a name change.

This issue is fraught with land mines.

Those pushing for The Paseo to be renamed to honor MLK have not considered that there would be as much opposition as support. Had they chosen almost any other street, it would have probably been renamed by now. I don't think anyone is opposed to honoring Dr. King. That's not the issue.

The Paseo has a lot of historic significance as part of the Parks & Boulevard system. It was the first boulevard in the City, and the name was chosen by the first parks commissioner, August Meyer. Many Kansas Citians are attached to that heritage.

It's also a hot point for residents of Mexican descent. Before Cesar Chavez Boulevard, there was no other street in KCMO that had any tie to their community. Mexicans started settling here from the earliest days because of the Santa Fe Trail, so Mexican-Americans make as much claim to this city as blacks do.

This group of ministers are advocating something that is insulting to another minority community.

I understand why the black ministers want The Paseo. It's a major artery that runs through their community, and is well-maintained and scenic. They believe a street of this stature should be the one to honor Dr. King, and not a more run-down street like Prospect.

But to achieve their goal, another minority community will have to given up a nice boulevard that acknowledges a street in their home country.

Blacks and Latinos have always had some friction in Kansas City politically. Blacks have four representatives on the city council, yet there are no council representatives of Mexican descent. So the fact that The Paseo is the street the ministers chose is a source of antagonism.

I predict that if the council votes to rename The Paseo, that there will be a voter initiative put forth to have a citywide vote on it. If that happens, voters will most likely overturn the council decision. It may be the only way to resolve The Paseo as choice in this matter.

As long as the renamed street isn't one that honors someone else, or has some historic significance, I think residents will support the renaming.

One exception: I think there is a certain magic in renaming J.C. Nichols Parkway after Dr. King. It's a rebuke of Nichols' racist housing policies. There would still be Nichols Road in the Country Club Plaza. However, I think there would be those who would oppose stripping Nichols' name from the parkway.

I think Sly James understands all the angles here, and that is why he sought a different route trying to address others' concerns.

Another issue that I don't think has been mentioned by anyone is that any residents living on Paseo after a renaming will have to update their voter registration and drivers licenses. Anyone who just recently got a new drivers license will have to go apply to get a new one with their new address. This might affect residents ability to vote, since some election judges might issue a challenge based on the voter ID law. Having a drivers license address that doesn't match voter registration might disenfranchise people attempting to vote--many of which would be black. These are common tactics used to disenfranchise minority voters. Kansas City is heavily Democratic, so some GOP leaders might attempt this during a close election.

Anyone thinking renaming The Paseo MLK Blvd. is going to generate any federal funds for development is an absolute fool.

FangKC wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:17 pm Blacks have four representatives on the city council, yet there are no council representatives of Mexican descent.

When is the next council district adjustment, after the 2020 census? I’d imagine the council will start to look very different with the next change.

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:00 am

FangKC wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:17 pm Blacks have four representatives on the city council, yet there are no council representatives of Mexican descent.

When is the next council district adjustment, after the 2020 census? I’d imagine the council will start to look very different with the next change.

We'll have new maps in 2021. Will go into effect in the 2nd future election.

The starting point is the northland. Expect the 1st and 2nd to pull dramatically northward. There's a ton of apartments that went in across both districts along the 152 corridor since 2010. They also tend to set districts for future growth so they'll shrink these growth areas physically more than other districts.

Remember that at current trends the northland may make up half of the city by 2030 or 2040 and downtown through the plaza could have another district by itself.

the 2000 to 2010 redistricting was already heading that way but was missing the massive downtown growth we've seen since then. Under current styles of splitting on Troost I expect we'll see either the urban core splits it's rep with places like Line Creek and Winnwood or another district will cross the river.

It's quickly becoming true that for minorities, that breaking the Troost line is going to be the only path forward.

With Democrats starting to win the suburbs, I doubt redistricting changes our city politics at all, but there will definitely be a different racial breakdown. I wonder if you took the entire KC metro in one group what the political makeup percentages would be? 50/50 liberal to conservative? We seem to be a nice cross section of America.

flyingember wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:33 amIt's quickly becoming true that for minorities, that breaking the Troost line is going to be the only path forward.

This is interesting because when I’ve asked about why we still use Troost as a political boundary, the same politicians who regularly talk about breaking down the Troost wall say that we use the boundary because nobody wants to change it. If you were looking for anecdotal information that this attitude is changing, take a look at where the western boundary of the east side sales tax is located - Paseo.

chaglang wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:30 am

flyingember wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:33 amIt's quickly becoming true that for minorities, that breaking the Troost line is going to be the only path forward.

This is interesting because when I’ve asked about why we still use Troost as a political boundary, the same politicians who regularly talk about breaking down the Troost wall say that we use the boundary because nobody wants to change it. If you were looking for anecdotal information that this attitude is changing, take a look at where the western boundary of the east side sales tax is located - Paseo.

I wouldn’t ever use *want to* around this.

But when the status quo is likely to eventually produce a 3rd district from the river to well south of Swope Park, it will become obvious that this would mean a whiter city council.

North of the river is dramatically more mixed. Like NKC HS is about half white, half not and there aren’t any majority minority schools in that district.

At the end it’s about priorities. Would the city prefer one district that always elects a minority or have three that will elect minorities if they’re the best candidate?

The at large model will tend to slowly skew more white as well. Today the east side can swing elections, add another 50k voters to the northland and that ability goes away.

Word is the Council will vote on the renaming of The Paseo on Thursday. Last chance to have input. Ord # 180828.

http://cityclerk.kcmo.org/LiveWeb/Docum ... IM0JPihCzY

mayor@kcmo.org, jermaine.reed@kcmo.org, quinton.lucas@kcmo.org, heather.hall@kcmo.org, teresa.loar@kcmo.org, Dan.Fowler@kcmo.org, katheryn.shields@kcmo.org, jolie.justus@kcmo.org, lee.barnes@kcmo.org, alissia.canady@kcmo.org, scott.taylor@kcmo.org, kevin.mcmanus@kcmo.org,

Council votes to rename The Paseo for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Days after the nation celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the City Council in Kansas City, Missouri voted to rename The Paseo after the civil rights leader.

The decision came after intense debate, which was tinged with racial politics.

There was a lot a mayoral politics on display during that vote, too.

The issue seemed dormant just days ago on the King holiday. But since then, members of the Kansas City Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference mobilized their forces to apply pressure at City Hall.
...
The Paseo was Kansas City's first boulevard, named after a street in Mexico City in the 1800s.

Ultimately, the measure passed 8-4.
...

https://www.kmbc.com/article/council-vo ... r/26030645

I hope local media picks up on the fact that, rather than work on a compromise, city council just voted to change The Paseo against the wishes of 85%+ of KCMO voters. I want to know why anyone who voted for this would seek election in April or ever again?

KansasCityGypsy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:40 am I hope local media picks up on the fact that, rather than work on a compromise, city council just voted to change The Paseo against the wishes of 85%+ of KCMO voters. I want to know why anyone who voted for this would seek election in April or ever again?

Not everything gets to be decided by referendum. We elect representatives to use their best judgment. How many of the "85% of KC voters" have even seen The Paseo in the past decade? Maybe their wishes shouldn't matter as much.

Regardless, I'm not making ANY voting decisions based on something as trivial as this. It's a non issue in my book.

I was really hoping for Nichols Road.

smh wrote: ↑Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:40 am I was really hoping for Nichols Road.

I was hoping for Troost. It's named after an actual slave holder.