Yesterday I canvassed Independence Ave in Kansas City, MO for the ACLU [View All]

[BrentWil]

I have never lived in an urban community before. However, I wanted to become involved in the community so I called my local ACLU and asked if they had any events going on. The purpose of this was simply to explain the rights that each person is granted under the constitution. It wasn't political, at least to me. It was more educational.

A few things. One thing is how far some areas of our cities have to go. Kansas City has seen great economic growth over the last 15 years. Yet, as with all cities, there are areas that are extremely crime ridden. On independence I tried my best to explain basic rights to prostitutes, people high, and various other people. It did impress upon me the need to serve those that are least among us.

Next thing I noticed was the sense of community. The area was extremely crime ridden, but managers of stores knew customers by name, and they greeted them warmly even hugging some. Even in the worst areas of this nation, people are people. It is a matter of figuring out how to turn around these areas.

Finally, I noticed the difference in reception I got. This was honestly based solely on race (I am white, for full disclosure). To be effective in getting out the information, we wanted to set up the information in stores for customers to pick up. This being the case, I went in to talk to a lot of managers. These people were the leaders of the community and they were clearly better educated then most of the residents. What I noticed was that I had a conversation with most of the non-white residents. However, the white store owners were very hostile. For example, one became very anger and spoke to me about the need to support police, highlighting a case in which a police officer were tackled a suspect and was being investigated. I tried to convey that I was there only to provide educational information, but it did not seem to work. (I then might have screwed with him some and highlighted his knowledge of the Constitution)

The amount of racial divid and their attitude to me was striking. In all fairness to the white owner, he is trying to run a business in a very economically troubled area and I don't blame him for having anger. (I properly shouldn't have screwed with him). However, these areas are in clear need of jobs and safety. The path towards that is clear and is already happening in places like Kansas City. However, our inter cities still have a long ways to go. If you live in or around a city, I think you(and I) should remain involved and continue to aid as the inter cities continue to return around this country.

One last note. I am really really good at convicting people to do things. Of the store owners that were not hostile, I was batting around 75% in convincing them to put up info in their stores.