OWENS ON - CALL

It has been sometime since I have written anything on my Blog. The past year has been filled with many ups and downs. I am in the twilight of my life, but I am still committed to do what God had led me to do some 48 years ago, to seek justice and fairness for all people who are disfranchised. This commitment has led me down many paths but has been fulfilling. I am seventy eight years old and I have already lived forty eight years longer that I thought I would.

Fear was the main obstacle that I had to overcome and that for all practical purposes was accomplished May 18, 1963, the same date that our youngest daughter, Carla Anne was born. My wife, Lillie Anne and I made a commitment that we would do whatever was necessary to make life better not only for our children but for persons who have been denied equal opportunities. This commitment was not only for Kansas City, KS but, we would carry our fair share that would affect the entire country.

In our late twenties, we joined with persons like Carl D. Randolph, Sr. Hughes and Lela Shanks,

Ella Mae Jackson, Wallace and Erma Downs, Beatrice and Ossie Gordon, Uriah Hatchett, Fred Taylor, Beatrice Locke and many others to fight discrimination in our city. These names may not be recognizable to many persons who are familiar with Kansas City, KS. We found out that strong leadership does not necessarily come from the established leadership. This was certainly the case in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

I would like to state to many of you that, especially persons age 50 and younger, someone paid a heavy price so that you might have the many opportunities that you may take for granted. These opportunities include being able to secure a good job, being able to live where you want to, and being able to go to or send your kids to the schools that you choose or that you can afford.

Many of us who were actively engaged in the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement felt that things would be better, and some things have gotten better for African Americans. Unfortunately, we see a rapidly deterioration of opportunities in many areas.

It is from this statement that I would like to talk about the city in which I live in and love-- Kansas City, KS. I have lived in this city as an adult since 1958 after I graduated from Pittsburg State University. My wife and I have engaged ourselves in the overall activities of Wyandotte County. We now see a return to the Pre-Civil Rights days in the treatment of persons who live in the Northeast Area of Kansas City, KS. which is still predominately Black. In my opinion, it is worse. We have expressed this to what we thought were the appropriate governmental officials, but unfortunately, I think that our concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Conditions are the same or worse than they were in the early 1950’s. I would not have made this statement thirty days ago.
As I write this, my wife and I are sitting in the surgical waiting room in one of the local hospitals. One of our friends is having surgery. As we sit here, one of my former Sunday School students of the 1980’s came in. What a joy to talk to talk to my former students! Teaching Sunday School was the one thing that I felt complete satisfaction in doing.

We have attempted to express our concerns to city officials, but in my opinion, there is limited two way dialogue. I served on the Kansas City, KS. City Council from 1983 to 1991- the first African American in the twentieth century. This was not something that I sought out to do, but was literally drafted by citizens of the district in which I lived when the change in the form of City Government came in 1983. The main reason for running was to represent the voice of the people rather than a select few of the “leaders” who, in too many instances, were looking out for their own selfish interests. I think we set the tone but unfortunately, this has changed.

There was another change in the form of government in the late 1990’s. City and county governments were consolidated. Some of us opposed this because we felt that the voices that spoke for the people would be muted. We would like to state that one of our Commissioners, who represents the same district that I represented, is usually ignored or not taken seriously. Our fears have been substantiated, and, in my opinion, the same “selfish leadership” has reappeared.
Some of us have had enough, and therefore, we must return to the streets again. We have found it impossible to have two-way communication with too many of our elected officials. It is as though we are having a replay of the period up to 1958 when we unfortunately had to first engage the false leadership and go to the streets. I will in time go into what really happened between 1958 and 1967 in one of my later blogs. The few of us who are still alive still have scars from this period.

The Northeast Area of Kansas City, KS, which I call the EXPLOITED AREA (versus the “inner city,” “the hood,” or “the ghetto”) is being used like never before. Many of us who still in the EXPLOITED AREA do so because we choose to live in this area and feel strongly that we must and will be treated fairly. Many of the persons who live in the area are elderly and can’t afford to move, so we just endure the neglect and exploitation.

The mayor, Joseph Reardon, has just appointed a Health Communities Wyandotte Steering

Committee. This was done because a report that showed that Wyandotte County ranked last of all of the Counties in Kansas as it related to health. I don’t know why this was a surprise to our public officials and many of our residents. I’m not sure if the majority of our residents still know about this report and the ranking of Wyandotte County. Also, the Commissioners have adopted a Complete Street Program. I feel very strongly based on past and current experiences that this program will be under utilized in the Northeast Area. We plan to deal with this program also. Stay tuned for our solutions to this issue.

It is appalling to me that persons who should have been working on this problem over the years and failed are now being asked to fix the problem. Could it be that it is more important to get funding to keep some agencies going and programs funded than working on the problem? This may be especially true because of current economic conditions.

We are again appalled that persons would make money off of our misery and hurt. We say, “NO MORE.” We will do everything in our power to stop this.

Please read my blog because we want to keep as many people as we can informed no matter where you live. To the number of you who no longer live in KCK, we need your support and prayers. We will let you know how you can help. Who knows--you may want to move back here one day and we hope that it will be the type of city that you may want to reside in.

Fear of speaking out is real from some of our citizens and especially the elderly, so keep us in your prayers. We know that there is a God and he will protect us.

I think that everyone should have a philosophy of life--know why you are on the planet, know yourself, spend time with yourself, know what's going on around you, listen to others (especially your Elders) and respect their opinions, know your history, and connect with a higher being. Two of my favorite sayings are, "We live by habits," and, "Time is the most important thing that we have." I sometime do a "Thought for the Day" that I send to my daughters (but I've gotten lazy in the past year).

Part of my philosophy which I learned in my middle thirties is, "Work is not the purpose of my life, I am given life thet I may live." To the men out there that are married or contemplating marriage check this out:

"I would rather die than to dishonor the name of the Lord, break the heart of my wife and family, or disappoint those who respect me."

I have been married for over 50 years and this has always been a part of my philosophy. If you commit yourself to this, you to can be married to the same woman for over 50 years.