Kansas
As Black History month ends, Wichita Democrat condemns racism in Kansas Statehouse – Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Rep. Ford Carr feels unseen.
The Wichita Democrat, who is one of eight Black lawmakers in the 165-member majority-white, majority-Republican Legislature, shared a letter on social media in which he vents frustration with bills he believes are harmful to Black communities. He is also critical of some of his colleagues’ actions.
“Racism in the Kansas Legislature is subtle but powerful,” Carr wrote. “They don’t even have to see us or acknowledge us. Our issues and positions are largely overlooked.”
“A racist ideology seems to be engrained in the foundation of most members of our Republican party,” Carr added.
This isn’t the first time Carr has spoken out about racist policies.
Last April, Carr made a speech that called out vote trading, using slavery terms to describe Kansas City Democrat Rep. Marvin Robinson, who broke from party lines on several key issues. Robinson’s vote allowed Republicans to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a transgender athlete ban for K-12 schools and colleges, turning the legislation into law. In exchange, Republicans allocated funding in the state budget for a special project that Robinson wanted.
“I would never trade my vote so that those people in my neighborhood, my constituents that I support, would never have the opportunity to look at me and think that I might be one of those ‘house negroes,’ ” Carr said at the time, distinguishing between slaves who worked in the field and those who worked indoors.
Republican legislative leaders admonished Carr for indecorous behavior.
Carr posted a letter, dated Feb. 25, to social media in which he addresses “racist legislation” in light of Black History Month.
He is concerned about House Bill 2583, which would increase jail time and fines for people who injure or kill police dogs and horses and attempt to flee police. Carr referenced the historical use of police dogs to harm people fighting for equality during the Civil Rights movement.
Senate Bill 36 would prohibit hairstyle discrimination in the workplace for styles such as braids, locs and twists. The bill fizzled in committee following a January hearing.
With medical marijuana legislation also up for debate, bills dictating licenses for plant growth and distribution should include provisions for minority-owned businesses, Carr added.
Carr also accused House leadership of retaliating against him by denying him an intern. Carr said he was told he could not have an intern because of concerns that were posed to leadership, but that he was never told what these concerns were.
The spokeswoman for House leadership didn’t respond to inquiries for this story, and a spokesman for Senate leadership declined to comment.
Carr referenced an occasion when white lawmaker Rep. Trevor Jacobs, a Fort Scott Republican, said he was sick of discussing racism because he isn’t racist.
“Pretty near every single bill that we do up here involves race or bigotry or whatever else,” Jacobs said in May of 2023 during House discussion of a police bill that would have increased penalties for people fleeing police officers. “I’m getting tired of being accused for that, for something I have not done and do not do and will not do. There’s no race in this. None. We’ve got to stop making it such a political ploy.”
Carr said he faces accusations of race-baiting or forcing the topic of race into conversations whenever he brings up concerns about how legislation would damage or disproportionately impact communities of color.
“Since taking office, I have worked diligently to scan every bill for racial components,” Carr said.
In the last four years, the University of Arkansas has gotten the better of the Kansas Jayhawks in postseason play.
In 2022, the Razorbacks defeated KU football 55-53 in a triple-overtime thriller in Memphis during the Liberty Bowl. A year later, No. 8 seed Arkansas upset No. 1 seed KU (and reigning college basketball champions) in the NCAA Tournament by a single point (72-71) to end Kansas basketball’s chances of a repeat. In 2025, Arkansas pulled off another upset in the Big Dance when the No. 10 seed Razorbacks defeated No. 7 KU 79-72 to advance to the Sweet 16.
Needless to say, there were plenty of Jayhawk fans hoping for revenge this weekend when Arkansas was announced as the No. 2 seed in the Lawrence Regional – and KU baseball delivered in a big way with a sweep over the Razorbacks to reach the program’s first-ever Super Regionals appearance.
KU came from behind in both games to earn a 5-3 victory on Saturday and a 13-10 win on Sunday night at Hoglund Ballpark.
On Saturday, Arkansas took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second before a Tyson LeBlanc RBI tied things up in the bottom of the third. Each team scored two in the fifth and remained deadlocked until KU pulled away late with a Dairel Osoria run in the seventh and a solo home run by Augusto Mungarrieta in the eighth to seal the win.
After Arkansas beat Northeastern in a narrow 10-9 contest on Sunday afternoon, KU and Arkansas met again on Sunday evening in a highly anticipated matchup that saw a lot of offensive firepower on display.
The Razorbacks jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings before KU had a monster performance in the top of the fourth. Osoria led things off with a solo home run before Brady Ballinger hit an RBI single to score Jordan Bach and Max Soliz Jr. had an RBI single to score Dylan Schlotterback. Then LeBlanc showed his All-American talents once again in a big moment by hitting a three-run home run to deep center field to put the Jayhawks ahead 6-5.
From there, KU would never relinquish the lead after scoring two runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth. The Jayhawks tacked on two more in the top of the eighth to give the team its 13th score of the game.
The Jayhawks are now 45-16 on the season – tied for the most wins in a season in program history with the 1993 team that reached the College World Series.
KU will now move on to the Super Regionals which start Friday, June 5. If Oklahoma beats Georgia Tech tomorrow, KU will get the chance to host as they did this week. If Georgia Tech wins, the Jayhawks will head to Atlanta with a spot in the College World Series on the line.
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KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.
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If the motto to live by is to get 1 hour of movement a day, the Parkinson’s community in Kansas City is exceeding it.
Bob Zipse has been fighting Parkinson’s for 10 years. He said the diagnosis hit him hard.
Leawood’s Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center expands services as diagnoses climb
“I was super depressed. I mean, I was in a chair. Did you want to move? Look around, just horrible. Because there’s no resources. Where do I go with the time?”
Zipse said the disease can be an isolating experience.
KSHB
“Parkinson’s, I say, is a very lonely, lonely disease. Either people don’t want to deal with you, or you’re embarrassing.”
He found the Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center at his lowest point. Now, he sees people around him pushing past their limits.
“You see people out here, they’re in the mid-70s, they’re doing push-ups, sit-ups, lifting weights. I mean, it’s amazing, really,” Zipse said. “In here, we’re all the same.”
Sarissa Curry founded the center after seeing the power of healing through exercise and recognizing that diagnosis rates were increasing. An aging population and younger diagnoses are among the biggest factors driving that trend.
Kansas consistently ranks as having one of the highest Parkinson’s disease diagnoses and mortality rates in the United States, second only to Nebraska. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, an estimated 20,000 people in the Kansas City metro alone are living with the disease.
“You see your neurologist once every six months to a year, and you see a physical therapist maybe a couple of months out of the year. Community-based programs are here every day to support this community,” Curry said.
Curry said the warning signs of rising Parkinson’s rates have been visible for years.
“They have been predicting this increase in Parkinson’s for many years. They were able to see the writing on the wall, they were able to see how the population was aging, and they knew that this was coming. We paid attention.”
She expanded the center to serve as an all-encompassing resource for people like Zipse.
KSHB
“I’d hate to wager what I would have been like. Life would have stopped for me, I think. This at least gives me hope, gives me some work towards and see some benefit of it,” Zipse said.
The PEWC will host a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, June 3, at 3:30 p.m. The community is invited to attend to learn more about the center’s services and the disease as incidence rates continue to rise each year.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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