Six Black Lives Matter (BLM) murals were unveiled on various streets in Kansas City  Sept. 5th. These murals can be found at the following intersections: 

• E. 63rd and  Brookside Blvd. E. 63^rd St.and Troost Ave., 
• 31st St. and Troost Ave.
•  E. 18th and Vine St.
• W. 10th St.and Baltimore Ave.
•  Northwest Briarcliff Pkwy and North Mulberry Dr.

Around 1,000 volunteers worked together to create these murals that “recognize the importance and significance of the Black Lives Matter movement” and aim to advance “social justice and racial equity.” These aforementioned goals were stipulated in a resolution adopted by the Kansas City council Aug. 8 which authorized the creation of the mural installation. 

Earnest Rouse, the Acting City Manager of Kansas City, was tasked with overseeing the completion of the murals. Further, the resolution stipulated that the mural should be created through a partnership between KC Art on the Block, The Urban League of Greater Kansas City and the Troost Market Collective. The project was paid for through donations. 

The mural installation took an estimated 600 gallons of paint. The murals collectively span about 2,000 feet of street and are thought to be the largest project of its kind in the US. 

Each of the murals were created according to the vision of different lead artists. Each of the murals are quite distinct – though they are nonetheless unified by the common vision of an anti-racist Kansas City community. 

For example, the mural found on 31st St. and Troost Ave. was directed by Michael Toombs, an American artist who is based in Kansas City. Toombs founded Storytellers Inc, a non-profit visual and performing arts organization. For his mural installation, Toombs focused on civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King. Toombs also brought attention to the historic racial segregation along Troost Ave. by incorporating a red line in the mural. 

The following quotes are from the lead artists for each of the six murals.

10th and Baltimore 

Artist:  Avrion Jackson 

“I want everyone to know that this isn’t a one day thing… it should matter everyday.” 

63rd and Troost 

Artist: Vivian Wilson Bluet

“When someone is told… that they matter, that their heartbeat is important, their thoughts, their dreams, their futures aren’t going to be hijacked by a traffic stop, that matters.” 

Briarcliff and Mulberry 

Artist: Harold Smith 

“Black Lives Matter is not saying that other lives don’t matter. It’s not saying that our lives are more important than others. But it’s acknowledging a problem that exists that Black lives are undervalued in America.” 

Troost and 31st

Artist: Michael Toombs 

“When you see so many diverse individuals come together for the purpose of sending that message [that Black lives matter], it just makes you feel good about humanity.”

18th and Vine 

Artist: Adrianne Clayton 

“It’s a reminder that we matter, it’s a reminder that we are unified, that we’re stronger together, it’s a reminder to fight for equality. And to celebrate who we are as a people.” 

Support for the mural installation was overwhelming – in fact, because so many people signed up to volunteer on the project’s Facebook post, the sign up sheet had to be taken down. Not all volunteers who signed up could be included on the project because of social distancing restrictions. 

The mural in Briarcliff and Mulberry was vandalized Sept. 5. An unidentified individual dropped white paint and burnt rubber over the mural. Cameras on both sides of the street captured the individual, though police say that they are not investigating the vandalization of the mural as a hate-crime or as property damage. This is because the mural is government property and the government cannot be a victim of a hate crime. 

Another issue contributing to difficulties involving the investigative process is that the city did not ascertain the value of the paint that went into the murals before the vandalization occurred. Thus, it is difficult to assess the extent of damage that a claim of property damage would make. Authorities are unsure of the intent of the vandalization, though residents are convinced that this was a purposeful and malicious act. 

Harold Smith, the lead artist of the damaged mural, said that it may be prudent to incorporate the act of vandalism into the artwork itself. 

“Rather than satisfy the vandal by going through the effort to erase their act of hate, we should use artistic and creative means to make it a part of the art,” Smith said. “That would be a profound social and artistic statement the same way Black musicians have channeled their pain to create the blues.”
The six Black Lives Matter Murals are part of a three-pronged approach adopted by the Kansas City council for the purposes of supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Specifically, the murals are phase one of this approach. Phase two will involve the creation of permanent “vertical” murals on buildings throughout Kansas City. Phase three involves creating an application so that private individuals and organizations can propose the creation of artworks supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in their own neighborhoods.

Many corporations across the United States have recently decided to use their platform to either support or regulate the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. For example, a few airlines have decided to take a stand and allow BLM pins to be worn by all employees if they so desire. Delta Airlines was the first to design their own rendition of the Black Lives Matter pin for their flight attendants to wear, and American Airlines soon followed, issuing a statement of support. 

“American Airlines believes in equity and inclusion for all. In light of the appropriate attention to lives of Black Americans, we will allow team members who wish to wear a Black Lives Matter pin to do so if they choose,” read a statement from American Airlines provided to USA TODAY by representative Sarah Jantz. 

While some employees frowned upon this decision from American Airlines, saying it goes against their own belief that “all lives matter,” American Airlines made it clear that it is an option and not a requirement for their flight attendants. 

“One symbolic way to show our support is through a uniform pin,” said one American Airline employee. “We are working with our Black Professional Network on designing a specific pin that may be worn with the uniform. In the interim until this pin is produced, to recognize the significance of this moment in history, we are allowing people to wear a Black Lives Matter Pin.”

Outside of the sky, this debate continues. Companies such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Taco Bell and Starbucks decided to regulate the Black Lives Matter attire and restrict employees from taking a stand with their clothing and masks, to avoid controversy. 

Starbucks issued a statement to their employees explaining that Black Lives Matter buttons were verboten because they violated dress code policies forbidding attire that advocates for “political, religious or personal issues” and could be used to “amplify divisiveness,” but the company quickly retracted it after Buzzfeed brought the memo to the public. 

Taco Bell also issued a retraction statement after sending an employee home in Ohio for wearing BLM masks, but Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have stood by their managers and have yet to issue a statement in support of their employee’s attire. 

When asked by the North Star, Trader Joe’s said “We understand this is a time for us to use our voice, and we appreciate the desire to hear how we plan to take action, sooner rather than later. It’s also critical that we take the time and steps that bring about the most meaningful change. When we say we’re committed to listening, caring, acting and continuously improving, we mean it.”

While this is a tough topic to speak about because of the tension going on in the United States, many companies have found it imperative to do so, in spite of fear of backlash or losing business. The NFL, NBA and MLB have all spoken in support toward Black Lives Matter, and they are huge corporations with big support and continue to have support. Many big corporations agree with this statement and have even given millions of dollars to the cause to show full support, such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.

Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, several members of the Jewell community have been involved in Black Lives Matter activism, as well as standing against racism and police brutality. The following article features multimedia content and interviews with a few Jewell alumni and students who have attended recent protests against police brutality in the Kansas City area.

Elise Villarreal, senior English and theater major, attended Kansas City protests at the Country Club Plaza the weekend of May 30. She filmed a video depicting police arresting an unarmed protester and pepper-spraying members of the protest around the arrested man. This video has since gone viral and gotten over 8.4 million views. Villarreal posted other videos of the protest in the same Twitter thread that also depicted police aggression. 

These videos can be viewed below.

CONTENT WARNING: physical assault, strong language

Villarreal was also injured in the protest. After being hit by a police baton from an officer arresting another protester, Villareal’s hand was broken in two places. In an interview with KSHB, she remarked that while she might want an apology from the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD), she ultimately just wants to see an end to police brutality. 

Villarreal’s videos from the Plaza protest have been shared by multiple major news media organizations – including local media, like The Kansas City Star and KSHB, national media, like BuzzFeed News and Last Week Tonight, and international media, like the Daily Mail.

Talia Zook, ‘19, went to the protest in the afternoon of Sunday, May 31 with friends she had met through her job at City Year. Zook estimated that hundreds of protesters were in attendance. Several brought first aid supplies, water, snacks and poster board for others at the protest.

Though Zook was present at the protest well before curfew, she noted that the KCPD were already brandishing weapons, holding tear gas in hand, stockpiling zip-tie handcuffs and stationing snipers in towers around the Plaza. 

Furthermore, she recounted the officers’ stoic presence as protesters implored them to demonstrate that their messages were being heard. 

“The police presence was emotionless, and therefore cold. We threw out multiple opportunities for them to show they were there to acknowledge us, not to just enforce rules for us. ‘Nod your head in solidarity if black lives matter!’ ‘Take a knee with us!’ ‘At least acknowledge us!’ The cops were looking through everyone, aside from the handful of protestors who were either walking up and down the line leading chants, or engaging in 1:1 conversations with them. It seemed as though they would only listen to what you had to say if you walked up and stood in front of their face. Something a lot of us were not willing to risk, but we fortunately were among people who were,” Zook said.

Zook also attended the counter-protest to the KCPD’s unity march, which occurred Wednesday, June 3 at the Plaza. 

This time, because curfew had been lifted, Zook arrived in the evening, at about 7:30 p.m. As midnight approached, two distinct, sizable groups of protesters either marched or protested in front of the cop line.  

“Police presence was much more threatening this time, and I think it was just because we were there at night,” Zook said. “They were everywhere. Stacked, armed and poised for violence. Having been on the line that was in front of cops for some time before we left, all I saw was intimidation.”

Zook described what was effectively a standoff between police and protesters, with police demanding that protesters stay out of the street and away from the cop line. Police placed caution tape across the whole intersection and blocked off surrounding streets with their cars. Though protesters asked for the police to explain why they could not enter the streets, police did not respond.

“They also repeatedly asked protestors to keep their distance from the cops and back up. Mind you, there was a solid five feet between our line and theirs, with the exception of chant-leaders and individuals who wanted to share their stories with the officers who would listen. I heard the story of a man who’s best friend was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping a white girl, even though there was no evidence of assault. She had one bruise on her leg, and that’s all they needed to convict his best friend to 12 years. It was really sad to hear, but it was also intriguing to see the way the cops reacted to his story because I felt it was very telling. There was sympathy in their response, but it almost seemed forced. It was like they recognized the tragedy, but still couldn’t believe any of their coworkers would have done that,” Zook said.

Zook’s last interaction on this night was with a police officer who was stationed with a colleague outside of a Main Street QuikTrip. As Zook’s friend walked inside to get a drink, she repeatedly said to them, “silence is consent to murder.” After she went inside, the officer said, “Yeah, we’re not doing that here.” 

Zook, who was sitting in her car with the windows down observing this, recounted the conversation she had with the officer after her friend walked inside:

Zook: “We aren’t doing what here, sir?”

Cop: “Protesting. This is private property.”

Zook: “Who is protesting?”

Cop: silent

Zook: “Who is protesting?”

Cop: silent

Zook: “Who, is, protesting?”

Cop: “You heard me.”

Zook: “Alright, well I’m gonna go ahead and say whatever the f*ck I want to on this private property then. Get your public job off of this property since it’s so private.”

Cop: “Alright, well I have spray.”

Zook: “Ohhhhhhh, you’re mad huh? I just made you mad, didn’t I?”

Zook began joking with nearby protesters who had been observing about how quickly the officer became upset.

“[I]t was honestly very comical to me how he was upset enough by my words to threaten me. He was completely proving the point of the whole movement,” Zook said. “I continued to laugh and joke with the people in the car next to me as my friend came back outside, and then we saw the cop go inside and grab his pepper spray can from behind the counter. He was no longer able to look at us, but he came back outside with it in hand, shaking it as if he was preparing to use it. I decided to leave since we had everything we needed from the store, to which we received a very sarcastic, high school-like ‘GOODBYYYEEEEE!’ from the cops. I made sure to let cops know up the road that their coworker was at the QT intimidating protestors with spray. I don’t believe it was received, but I do know they heard me.” 

Brendan Davison, ‘20, attended both the Saturday, May 30 protest at the Plaza and the Sunday, May 31 protest at the Kansas City, Kan., Municipal Court House.

Davison described the varying forms of support shown by protesters at the Plaza. Posters said anything from “Black Lives Matter” and “Justice for George Floyd” to listing the names of various black victims of police violence – even on a local level. Protesters chanted mantras with similar themes, including “Black lives matter,” “No justice, no peace” and “Say his name.”

Davison noted that, in addition to being much more well-attended and having a larger police presence, the protest at the Plaza was characterized by more tension and confrontation than the protest he attended at the Municipal Court House in Kansas. The latter protest focused on more local issues of injustice and brought in community leaders from political, activist and religious circles to make public addresses to attendees.

Discussing the police presence at the Plaza protest, Davison said that police often resorted to aggressive measures when protesters stepped off the west-facing curb by the JC Nichols Memorial Fountain into the closed-off JC Nichols Parkway. Officers often used pepper spray to stun those who did so before making arrests. Davison recalled witnessing one of the individuals who had stepped off the curb backed into a car, thrown on the ground and arrested by advancing police officers who were attempting to push protesters back out of the street. 

“Because of their aggressive attitude towards the protests, I lay the blame for the violence, property destruction and general chaos that occurred on Saturday evening, after I left, on the KCPD, as the violence committed by some protesters was an escalating response to the aggression by the police. The police made no attempts at de-escalation, and instead resorted to physical force and intimidation from the outset. It also comes as no surprise that the ‘riots’ only began after the police deployed tear gas at 8 p.m., given the use of tear gas is often associated with not suppressing riots, but making riots more violent. For these reasons, I would classify this weekend’s events not as a violent protest, but as a police riot,” Davison said. 

As a long-time member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Davison has opposed racism, police brutality and white supremacy and supported movements like Black Lives Matter for years. His local chapter of DSA has a prison abolition working group that has enabled Davison to be engaged in matters promoting racial equality and criminal justice reform. Some of their initiatives include compiling reports on the conditions of the Jackson County jail and advocating the abolition of cash bail in Kansas City. One of their partners is Reale Justice Network, which has set up a cash bail fund for local protesters who were arrested by police.

“One thing I did seek to draw attention to this weekend is promoting Irish American solidarity with the black community. As an Irish-American myself, I am gravely disappointed with many in the Irish-American community, who uphold and defend the system of white supremacy. As someone who identifies heavily with the Irish Republican tradition, I struggle to see how people so proud of their Irish heritage and Irish resistance to English imperialism and rule, cannot see the parallels between the treatment of the Irish by the English and the treatment of Black Americans by the police,” Davison said.

Shae Crane, senior elementary education major, attended the June 5 protest at Kansas City’s City Hall. Crane remarked that this protest was quite peaceful and that she did not witness any instances of police aggression.

“This protest was very peaceful compared to the protest[s] I have seen on the news,” Crane said. “We [stood] in front of City Hall and listened to various speakers then once the speakers were over we moved in front of the police headquarters. That’s when police in riot gear and military officers started to funnel out of the police headquarters building and form a wall between the protestors and the building. A few chants I remember were ‘Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see a riot here.’ ‘Hands up, Don’t shoot.’ ‘Say their names, ‘Breonna Taylor’ ‘George Floyd.’”

To Crane’s estimation, this protest was well-attended, with the City Hall courtyard effectively filled with protesters. Once the march began, passersby contributed by honking, if in cars, or stopping to join in chants.

In addition to attending this protest, Crane has shown her support for the cause in several other ways.

“I have been signing various petitions, sharing informational articles and attending protests. I also posted my story as a biracial woman in America and some of the situations and experiences I have been through,” Crane said.

Jamie Briscoe, senior chemistry major, attended the Saturday, May 30 Kansas City Plaza protest. Describing the tone of the protest, he shared that an overarching ambivalence of emotions – namely, unease, fear and courage – filled the atmosphere.

“You get to see all sides of humanity during something like this; you have people standing in front of the protest who are face to face with police in all their riot gear, something that took more courage than I have ever needed. Everyone is in an extremely emotionally raw state due to the extreme adrenaline there. There are also people who are responsible for seeking out those who’ve been injured and helping them get proper medical care, be it from tear gas, rubber bullets, or the crowd trampling them as they retreat from the police. There are also less positive things you will see. I watched cowards stand 50 feet away, hiding behind other people as they threw rocks or water bottles in an attempt to incite a police response. This was almost always met with rounds of protesters trying desperately to stop them, and keep the police from unleashing even more tear gas,” Briscoe said.

In terms of the police presence at the Saturday protest, Briscoe noted that protesters far outnumbered police officers, but each officer was fully equipped with riot gear, including mace, sandbag bullets, shields, tear gas and flashbangs. 

Briscoe was tear-gassed by police twice during the protest. The first time, police deployed tear gas in response to a car that had been set on fire – which Briscoe had not been a part of – in an effort to prevent rioters from causing more damage. 

“The second time I was gassed, however, was a result of what I think was police handling the situation poorly. Me and a group of several people had kneeled to chant about 10 feet from one line of cops in gear, when cops behind us shot tear gas. This was especially painful because it meant we could not get rid of the canister before it had released all of its harmful chemicals, and so all of us kneeling had to run blindly to safety,” Briscoe said. “My friend who I had gone with was so disoriented by the pain and blindness that he accidentally ran towards the cops in fear; they responded by shoving him to the ground and yelling for him to get back while he yelled and wretched.”

This was Briscoe’s first time attending a protest, though he has shown support in other forms to related causes in the past. In a final statement, he emphasized the importance of actively engaging in efforts to resist injustice and oppression.

“My final point is only to say this: White silence is violence. If you are disinterested in supporting minority groups, you are allowing oppression to continue and benefit you. Everybody go protest and be a part of the positive change, the experience is not only vital to help these movements succeed, the personal growth you can feel is immense,” Briscoe said.

*Quotes have been reformatted to follow Monitor style guidelines.

While we’ve attempted to demonstrate our commitment to highlighting student voices and keeping our community informed by publishing features of student advocacy and news reports on the institutional response to these events, these do not constitute an explicit condemnation of the egregious human rights violation that is police brutality, which we must do in order to affirm our commitment to securing freedom and equality for all members of our community.

Speaking as editor-in-chief of The Hilltop Monitor, I conflated news coverage of the recent events alone as a statement of the Monitor’s commitment to these principles. That is simply not enough, and for that I apologize. I further apologize for not sooner directly expressing our condemnation of the horrific murder of George Floyd, and Black people killed by police before him, and our commitment to anti-racism. 

This letter is long overdue, not just because it is being published two full weeks after George Floyd’s murder, but also because the Monitor has never in its history publicly and explicitly expressed a commitment to uplifting the voices of the marginalized nor recognizing the unequivocal truth that Black lives matter.

We cannot be trusted to effectively keep our College accountable nor adequately represent our community if we are unable to call instances of racism and breaches of human rights exactly what they are. 

In doing so, however, we must first confront the failures on the part of our own organization to work to those ends.

News organizations are all too often scared into a position of complacent centrism by the age-old journalistic code of ethics that champions objectivity and neutrality as the cornerstones of good reporting. However, in a case such as this, the basic premise of these ethics is self-defeating. How is it that the fundamental truth that Black lives matter is considered subjective or biased? Acknowledging that Black lives matter is not a political statement. It is a fact. 

And, how convenient is it that these codes of ethics were created by White men hundreds of years ago who were privileged enough to be able to remain neutral and unaffected? We must begin to question the application of these standards and recognize how they can perpetuate oppressive structures under the guise of unbiased objectivity. 

Alexis de Tocqueville, writing in his seminal work in political science “Democracy in America” about the indispensability of press associations to democracy, said about newspapers:

“To suppose that they only serve to protect freedom would be to diminish their importance: they maintain civilization.”

In a previous Letter from the Editor I wrote with my then co-chief editor about press freedom and the importance of distinguishing opinion from facts, I remarked that “the Monitor is not an advocacy organization.” This was, and is, false.

Newspapers, at their core, are advocates of democracy, advocates of freedom and, as de Tocqueville said, advocates of civilization.

As such, we must recognize the fact that maintaining civilization requires the condemnation of acts and practices that run contrary to universal norms of human rights and call out instances of failures to dispel racism within our community.

It is our duty not only to report on instances of racism as they happen but to hold guilty parties accountable. This requires consistent, persistent coverage that doesn’t cease once tensions cool down.

Furthermore, in seeking to account for our failures and report news that takes into account the views of all individuals within our communities, we must work to recruit more BIPOC staff members. 

As a newspaper with a primarily White staff, we inherently skew our reporting to a specific worldview, and that can only be compensated for by the inclusion of more BIPOC contributors.

Below we outline a few concrete measures by which the Monitor will demonstrate its commitment to oppose racism and promote inclusivity on Jewell’s campus:

• Undertake journalistic investigations into instances of racism and discrimination within the Jewell community, publishing a minimum of two to three full investigative pieces per semester
• Provide more accessible avenues by which all members of our community can bring to our attention leads, tips and story ideas relating to diversity and inclusivity in order to expand our coverage, including but not limited to a Google form accessible on all of our social media
• Place an increased focus on reporting on racial disparities as they present themselves within Liberty, the Kansas City metro and the U.S., by publishing at minimum five of these news pieces per semester and designating a beat specifically concerning these issues, so that staff members are always ready to cover these issues the moment they present themselves
• Incorporate themes of advocacy, inclusion and dignity into articles on all pages, not just Features and News, including but not limited to publishing more artist and sports features on BIPOC and more reviews of art/work/content created by BIPOC
• Recruit more BIPOC staff members by reaching out to organizations like BSA, Mi Gente, INSA – not only asking them to join our staff but also asking them if there are ways we can make our reporting more inclusive
• Use our platform to highlight and amplify BIPOC voices, including, but not limited to, regularly commissioning opinion pieces and letters to the editor from BIPOC, seeking out interviews from more BIPOC and featuring more BIPOC-led initiatives in our news reporting
• Establish direct lines of communication with the leadership of campus multicultural organizations in order to increase coverage on them, especially those representing BIPOC, including publishing dedicated features explaining the missions of each of these organizations as well as publishing content throughout the year reporting these organizations’ initiatives 
• Carefully question and probe the validity of data and statistics from law enforcement agencies for misrepresentative or racially biased information
• Explicitly ask cabinets and senators running for Student Senate both at the annual Senate debates and within interviews how they intend to oppose racism and promote diversity and inclusivity on campus, particularly with regards to recruitment and retention, enrollment, housing and representation on campus

If you are interested in getting involved in any of these initiatives, have any comments or questions about these or have further recommendations for items we should add to this list, please email editor-in-chief Christina Kirk at monitor@william.jewell.edu.

Our primary role on this campus is and has always been amplifying voices within our community and holding the College accountable. This requires that we promote diversity and inclusivity within both our newsroom and our reporting.  It also requires watchfulness, persistence and the ability to call out racist and discriminatory behaviors and practices for what they are.

Our silence was prohibitive of these goals, and we now realize that the press cannot truly be a beacon of freedom and equality if it fails to do its part in mitigating and dismantling oppressive structures. We will do better because we must do better.

Letters to the editor can be sent to monitor@william.jewell.edu.

Our staff is open to any student who would like to join. If interested, send an email to monitor@william.jewell.edu.

Christina Kirk, Editor-in-Chief

Savannah Hawley, Managing Editor and Chief Copy Editor

Catherine Dema, Features Editor and Investigations Editor

Jenna Hultgren, News Editor and Opinions Editor

Trent Brink, Sports Editor 

Angelica Gutierrez, Lifestyle Editor

Kari Tott, Coordinator of Campus Engagement