WHY YOUR VOTE MATTERS! 50th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act KATHERYN SHIELDS STANDS UP FOR EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS FOR ALL Page 5 COUNCILMAN REED AND FREEDOM, INC. PUSH TO “Cooperation between County and RAISE MINIMUM WAGE City government is crucial to our Page 6 success. With Ken Bacchus on the PLUS... Council, we can’t lose!” Says Jackson NEIGHBORHOODS MATTER! County Legislator Frank White. JOBS MATTER! Ken Bacchus has the experience needed to facilitate COMMUNITY MATTERS! revitalization of the 5th District. Teaming with Lee Barnes, SMALL BUSINESSES MATTER! Quinton Lucas and the other candidates endorsed by SERVICES MATTER! Freedom, Inc., he will be a champion for improving basic CONTINUED, PAGE 3 Page 2 VOTE TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015 Paid Political Advertisement 2015 marks the 50th Anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. BY GWENDOLYN GRANT Board of Directors I remember the struggle to win our right to vote: the Leadership Team lynchings, the water hoses, the marches, the sit-ins, Senator Shalonn “Kiki” Curls the lives lost, and the pain and suffering that so Gwendolyn Grant many endured so that we can exercise the franchise. Dr. Gayle Holliday I also remember the jubilance, elation, pride and Ken Bacchus (Currently on leave of absence) joy expressed by my elders when they stood in long Bruce Beatty, Treasurer lines to register to vote. Even though I was a little too Gail McCann Beatty young to grasp the real meaning of it all at the time, I Craig Bland knew it was important. Rodney Bland I remember accompanying my mother to the polls Melba Curls and how proud she was when she cast her first ballot. Randy Dunn DaRon McGee At the ripe age of 90, my dear mom has voted in every Darren Smith election since she gained her right to vote in 1965. She Here are five reasons WH“ Y YouR vote MatteRS”: Keith Thomas knew then – and still knows – that her vote matters. Thousands fought, Like mom, children of the civil rights era knew that 1. It’s yOUR RIGHT AND YOUR OBLIGATION. struggled and died for your right to vote. Frederick Douglass said: “No class of the future for blacks depended on the ballot. They men can, without insulting their own nature, be content with any deprivation knew that exercising their voting rights would mean of their rights.” an end to segregation, discrimination, hooded acts of violence, and lynchings that were pervasive in 2. YOUR COMMUNITY NEEDS IT. Voting in local and state elections is those days. They knew that voting would open doors paramount in determining your quality of life. Who and what you vote for of opportunity for blacks to live, learn, and work as impacts basic services, education and healthcare. equals. 3. YOUR JOB IS ON THE LINE. Raising the minimum wage and the right to Voting mattered then and voting matters now. But far join a union are current issues that directly impact your earning power. too many of us are disengaged. Freedom, Inc. Leadership Team (l-r): When asked why, many Black Kansas Citians respond 4. YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE AND THE GREAT EQUALIZER. Collective Dr. Gayle Holliday, Gwendolyn Grant and that they don’t believe their vote matters. They action starts with voting. Politicians listen to demands from communities with Senator Shalonn “Kiki” Curls can’t see any benefit in exercising their voting right. high voter turnout. The higher the voter turnout, the louder your voice. Your Unemployment rates are in double digits. Inner-city vote ensures equal access to seats of power at all levels of government. neighborhoods are devastated by crime, blight and 5. YOUR FREEDOM DEPENDS ON IT. Your vote can influence racial 1202 Brooklyn Avenue hopelessness. They are disillusioned. Blacks turned profiling policies, police use-of-force, incarceration rates, and who serves in Kansas City, MO 64127 out in huge numbers in 2008 and 2012 to elect and the judiciary. 816-483-VOTE (8683) re-elect Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States, but hope and change Fax 816-483-1246 on the local level eludes them. DO YOU WANT CHANGE? JUSTICE? EQUALITY? Email [email protected] Paradoxically, the same reasons people don’t vote are WWW.FREEDOMINCORPORATED.ORG VOTE TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015! the reasons why they should. KC skyline photo courtesy of Raye Pond Photography. Paid for by Freedom, Inc. Bruce Beatty, Treasurer. Paid Political Advertisement FREEDOM, INC. Page 3 OUR CITY MATTERS! CONTINUED services and the allocation of resources for housing AN -STAR PL for DIST ’S 5 RIC and economic development throughout the EN T 5 district. K After four years of stagnation, neglect, and inattention, we can ill afford to elect a council H PUT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO WORK member lacking experience and skills in housing H RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE and economic development. Ken Bacchus has expertise in housing and economic development. H PROTECT PROPERTY VALues – His opponent has expertise in prosecution and NEW HOUSING, BUSINESSES, AND incarceration. INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES We need the experience of Bacchus at City Hall. We H REVITALIZE THE PROSPECT CORRIDOR need the experience of his opponent at the Court H IMPROVE BASIC SERVICES FOR OUR House. Think about it: In these turbulent times “forgoTTEN NEIghborhoods” do you want to send a community builder or a community prosecutor to City Hall? KEN BACCHUS engages 5th District residents, Blue Hills Neighborhood Association members, and guests at a community “Fish Fry” about his 5-Star Plan for the District. It’s our responsibility as neighbors to “be the change” that we want and need in our community; and it is the responsibility of the City Council to listen to residents and take action to bring about this positive change. We to bring about this positive change. We will rise or fall as well as infrastructure improvements are essential will rise or fall together!” together! to the future prosperity of all Kansas Citians. – lee barnes As your councilman, I will team with Ken Bacchus Some years ago I was elected to the Kansas City School CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE / 5TH DISTRICT AT-large and others to see that the basic services (snow Board, and currently I am Director of Operations at removal, road and curb repair, and street lighting) The UpperR oom which provides education programs our community needs and deserves are delivered, and to approximately 3,000 inner-city youth. The respon- TEAMWORK MATTERS! that every resident has access to their government. sibility we have to our children is something I take BY LEE BARNES Our community will not prosper without living wage personally. Great strides have been made since I was a boy jobs and stable employment. The most effective way I will use my experience on the Kansas City School growing up in Kansas City. When President Obama to gain progress in this area is to partner with exist- Board, my experience as an engineer, and my was elected in 2008 our hearts were filled with hope. ing corporations and businesses to develop attractive experience as Chairman of the Planned Industrial Now, in 2015, it is important for us to work together community reinvestment incentives, explore more Expansion Authority to collaborate with residents for social and economic justice. It’s our responsibil- creative avenues for business startups, offer financial of the community to ensure basic public services are ity as neighbors to “be the change” that we want and support and mentoring to entrepreneurs, and create improved, more jobs are available to more workers, need in our community; and it is the responsibility of more opportunities for developers to revitalize under- and our children grow up in a stronger Kansas City! the City Council to listen to residents and take action served communities. The combination of these things Paid for by Freedom, Inc. Bruce Beatty, Treasurer. Page 4 VOTE TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015 Paid Political Advertisement GREEN AcRES HELPS LOCAL RESIDENTS OF FOOD DESERTS BY AILEY POPE Green Acres Farm & Gardening is a non-profit organization founded five years ago by former City Councilwoman Carol Coe. Beginning with a mini-farm at 27th and Prospect, Green Acres provides healthy food options within the urban core. Green Acres has made a commitment to grow and provide healthy vegetables in what is known as a “food desert.” Carol Coe is ready to prepare land for a community garden, as Over the years Green Acres has expanded from gardening to Aquaponics. This innovation allows fish to Rev. Kenneth Ray and State Representative Randy Dunn look on. be grown inside a green house year round. The fish also provide a means to grow vegetables in the green house. Using old-school ways of cultivating soil in combination with innovative techniques, Green Acres has contributed substantially to the distribution of healthy food. In partnership with the Kansas City School District, Lincoln University and the City of Kansas City, MO, Green Acres has helped feed thousands of residents in “food deserts” across the city. The development of parcels for people in the urban core to collectively garden, farm and cultivate helps to revitalize neighborhoods. Green Acres has been helpful in the elimination of blight and the creation of food producing green spaces. We need to expand operations to serve more people and stabilize more neighborhoods. “With the dynamic team of Jermaine Reed, Quinton Lucas, AILEY POPe has a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Southern Methodist Ken Bacchus and Lee Barnes on the City Council, Green Acres University. She is currently a congressional can expand, create jobs, and feed our community!” aide in the U.S.