Northeast News
January 20, 2016

To the editor:

I wanted to express my strong abhorrence for the recent Bunny the newshound opinion piece titled “The struggle for truth is real” (January 6, 2016, issue of Northeast News).

The piece was problematic in many ways, but there are two points I’d like to focus on: the intellectually shallow statements about important yet complex issues affecting Kansas City; and the disservice the piece does to our Northeast community.

Obviously, I don’t have enough room in this letter to detail the complete history and current reality of racial injustice in Kansas City that make ours one of the most racially segregated cities in the U.S. However, it is well-documented and I would suggest the human behind Bunny read some of it or discuss it with a historian to gain a better understanding. Even a base-level knowledge of that history and the monumental efforts to combat those injustices would reveal that statements like “if you want economic equity, maybe you should go out and get a job” and “Kansas City’s black community should police itself first” are incredibly patronizing. When was the last time patronizing comments directed at struggling communities helped them affect positive social change? Never.

The Northeast News would be such a great way to facilitate a meaningful dialogue geared towards “actually improving [our] community at large.” Instead, I’m endlessly frustrated to read Bunny columns used as a means for stomping on the efforts of young people and spewing spiteful, anti-intellectual, and counterproductive rhetoric.

When talking about this piece with my peers living in Northeast, one common shared feeling is that of embarrassment. Many people, including our friends, colleagues, and other motivated millennials, read the Northeast News to research whether they should invest their time and dollars here in property, projects, and recreation. I am mortified at the idea of them reading this piece. Not to mention hurt by its complete disregard and lack of empathy for Northeast’s main demographic: young, poor people of color.

I’m becoming less and less tolerant of the oppressive narratives that are given so much attention in this paper. I’d like to call on Northeast’s many progressives to raise their voices and write to this paper in protest. Instead of reading the racist sentiments of a dog wearing a hat, I want to read about how we as a community should fight for the children in Northeast who deserve the opportunity to get a high quality education at the public schools near their house. I want to read about how our neighborhood organizations value being inclusive, and actively seek out large memberships that are truly reflective of the neighborhood’s demographics. I want to read that Northeast’s underrepresented residents (i.e. non-white, non-English-speaking, low income, immigrant, refugee, renters) are included in decision-making processes and I want our leadership to view it as a failure if they are not. I want to read about all of the great things young people contribute to our community, like speaking two or three languages, rehabilitating our majestic public parks, growing a lot of food on formerly neglected vacant lots, winning soccer games, earning scholarships to pay for college, investing in starter homes, and so much more.

Look around; the iniquities of Northeast are stark…some of our residents are really suffering…and we need to prioritize changing that through collective action. Bunny’s piece is woefully under-informed, infuriatingly divisive, and just makes the situation worse.

Sincerely,

Jenna Wilkins

Northeast Resident