Under the sweltering midday sun in late July, more than 100 faith leaders and community members marched from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park to Brush Creek and Troost, not in celebration, but in protest— demanding what every other part of Kansas City already has: basic infrastructure, environmental justice, and the dignity of a well-kept neighborhood.
“This isn’t about racism. This is about environmental injustice,” said Rev. Antoine Lee, Senior Pastor of Central Christian Church, one of the lead voices behind the rally. “We’re tired of being excluded from the city’s development. We want to feel just as proud about our neighborhood as everyone else.”
The stark contrast between the east side of Brush Creek and the more polished stretch near the Country Club Plaza is not new, but the pain it causes is still raw. While families near the Plaza are met with dragon boat banners and manicured banks, residents on the east side face city signs warning of toxic runoff and closed sidewalks.
Craig Smith, a community leader and activist who grew up just two blocks from Brush Creek and, back in 2015, recorded a video calling for its cleanup, took the mic at the rally to remind the crowd that the state of the creek is no accident.“This situation, this divide that you can perceive, see, smell, was designed that way…,” he said…