Editor’s Note: This interview is part of an ongoing Star series highlighting Kansas Citians from historically underrepresented communities and their impact on our region. The series builds on The Star’s efforts to improve coverage of local communities. Do you know someone we should interview? Share ideas with our reporter J.M. Banks.
Before Melesa Johnson ever stepped into the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, she was a young Black girl growing up on the East Side of Kansas City. There weren’t many lawyers in her immediate neighborhood, but what she did have was a strong village of people who encouraged her to pursue spaces where she wasn’t always told she belonged.
That early support from her community helped shape the belief that she could and should be part of the law and order system she once viewed with skepticism…