Okay, grab a chair, Sweet & Gritty Gang. Not only are we analyzing a cold case file today, but we are also analyzing the recipe book that sparked the commotion in my neighborhood. I was raised just a short distance from the VA Hospital at 33rd and Kensington. It could be just another zip code to an outsider. However, Kansas City residents are aware that our neighborhoods weren't seasoned by chance. They were painstakingly prepared, with some ingredients purposefully allowed to go bad. This is more than just a history lesson; it's the tale of how, even now, when you hear the sirens wailing, the invisible lines that were drawn on a map a century ago still feel like brick walls. 📜
The Poisoned Pantry: A Segregation Recipe
It would be impossible to discuss Kansas City crime without mentioning the cookbook. As you can see, early 20th-century real estate developers such as the J.C. Nichols Company constructed barriers in addition to homes. Racial restrictive covenants were a fancy legal way of saying, "Your skin isn't the right color for this side of Troost." This served as the recipe's foundation. Then they added redlining, in which banks marked Black neighborhoods on maps with red lines to indicate that they were "hazardous" and thus denied loans and investment. This process was intended to bring about a "shift in public perception... to associate the presence of Black people with deteriorating neighborhoods and crime," as historical analyses note. It was a prejudiced, self-fulfilling prophecy that was ignored for generations.
I grew up inside that red line at 33rd and Kensington. The crumbling sidewalks, the underfunded schools, and the overbearing police presence were more than just a historical footnote. It was the sensation of having to prepare a fine meal out of leftovers while living in a kitchen where all the best ingredients were hidden away.
When "Kansas City" Had a Color Line: A Look at Chalkboard Cartography
That ignorance isn't limited to dusty archives; it flaunts its full damn chest in college classrooms. I was a lively, enthusiastic college student who was eager to learn more about the history that had influenced me. I was enrolled in an Africana Studies course. A Black man from Ghana, the professor was a brilliant scholar with a deep understanding of the continent. But he had a completely different perspective on my city.
We were talking about urban development one day. He furrowed his brow when I brought up my childhood address, which is 33rd and Kensington in the 64128 zip code. He questioned, "Are you sure that's Kansas City?" He continued by explaining that neighborhoods like mine were actually in the surrounding areas, and that "Kansas City" proper was actually just the downtown area.
He wasn't finished, though. Oh no. He then declared that the 64110 zip code, where I attended high school, was "one of the most dangerous areas in KC," making it all but uninhabitable, with the unflinching certainty of an academic.
The part that still enrages me is this: the white students in the room simply nodded in agreement because he was a Black man and an authority on Africana Studies. The relief on their faces was almost visible. Now a Black expert was confirming their preconceptions about the "dangerous" areas of the city. The fact that I was from the block he was denouncing and he was from another continent made no difference. Under the guise of his Blackness, his academic authority spread false information. The class was consuming my lived experience with a spoon while simultaneously erasing it. 😠
A Snip of Reality: Let's Examine the Data
What does this poisonous stew of ignorance and history taste like now? The aftertaste is a bitter pill, and it tastes like inequality, baby. Shall we examine the nutritional facts? 📊
Data from 2023 shows that approximately 25% of people in Kansas City are Black. Hold that number now. Black people made up an astounding 54% of all drug arrests, according to a 2020 Jackson County Prosecutor's Office analysis. The heat increases. According to the same analysis, 80% of the defendants in certain "buy bust" cases in 2019 were Black.
What about the main course? It's even more difficult to swallow. According to a 2021 study, Missouri's homicide rate for Black individuals was 48.8 per 100,000, while it was only 6.1 for white individuals. And the difference is felt. According to a report by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, Black people made up 65% of all homicide victims between 2017 and 2021. Finally, a 2019 analysis of Missouri's legal system revealed that Black people were incarcerated at a rate that was 4.2 times higher than that of white people for comparable offenses.
Turning the Recipe Around: Foundations, Adaptability, and Successful Business
I had a deeper connection to my city and zip code (64128) than any red line, but that professor, in his infinite wisdom, was unaware of it. Many of the homes on my block were constructed by my grandfather, a diligent Black man with a vision and calloused hands. Brick by brick, he built a sanctuary by laying the foundations and driving the nails.
I sensed that legacy growing up there. And yes, I will confess that there were times when I was a brat. "If you don't leave me alone, I'll get my family to kick you out of your house!" was a line I knew was mostly a bluff, but I would puff out my chest and threaten the neighborhood kids when they irritated me. Although it was an innocent power play, it was motivated by a deep-seated sense that we belonged there.
And that's the true tale. The tale of communities like mine is not only about the poison in the pantry; it is also about the unquestionable, unwavering fortitude of those who were labeled a "hazardous" ingredient. On a dead man's map, 33rd and Kensington is more than just a red line. It's the aroma of the smoker from the decades-old, family-run barbecue and liquor business on 35th & Cleveland. It's the sound of clippers and laughter coming from a barbershop owned by Black people. New business owners from Van Brunt to Troost are seen there, bootstrapping their own shops and community centers. These are the people who decided to throw a feast after seeing a plate of leftovers. These are the small companies that have "grown through trials and tribulations," demonstrating that gardening is possible even in arid environments. In this city's complex batch, they are the sugar cookies. 🍪
The city has declared racism a public health crisis and is gradually attempting to add some new ingredients. That's adorable. However, the kitchens on my end of the line have always been the source of the true flavor and change. All along, we've been cleaning up the stains and baking something fresh with our own bleach and sugar.
What is the recipe for the Sweet & Gritty Gang in your neighborhood? What additional components are you incorporating into the mixture? Leave a comment below with your thoughts. Let's continue to cook.
Ncrc. (2018, September 27). Media Planet: 3 key ways to fight lending discrimination » NCRC. National Community Reinvestment Coalition. https://ncrc.org/media-planet-3-key-ways-to-fight-lending-discrimination/
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