Prairie Village Protest Sparks Change in the Community

The “Stand Up for Black Lives” silent march and rally held Wed. June 10 sparked discussion among the East community and Prairie Village residents. 

Event planners included several members of the East community, and according to East Alum and planner Olive Henry, their intent was to bring attention to the hardships that the black community in Prairie Village faces, as well as provide a safer environment for families and students who chose not to attend the larger protests at the Plaza. 

“We wanted [the rally] to be hopeful while staring reality in the face,” East teacher and planner Samantha Feinberg said. “[Prairie Village] is a predominantly white suburb so we were partly out to make sure that people understood that this is a dire situation and a violent situation, but we also wanted people to know that if they care enough to do something, a lot of progress can be made.” 

A parking lot in the Prairie Village Shops was set up with a stage and “Black Lives Matter” banners for the rally, where 18 speakers shared words and insight about the movement. A few of those were members of the East community, and the others included a variation of Kansas City students and locals. 

“I thought it was really powerful to hear students from East to JC Harmon sharing their thoughts,” rising senior and protest attendee Ana Sofia Lahovary said. “It’s completely [eye-opening] seeing people’s perspectives and people’s experiences that I will never experience in my life because I am never going to be discriminated against for the color of my skin.”

The messages varied from the history of black people in Prairie Village to slam poetry addressing what it’s like to grow up black — and each speaker left the audience of almost 1,500 snapping their fingers and applauding in support. 

“We were really excited about [the turnout] because originally we were thinking maybe a couple hundred people would show up,” East parent and planner George Williams said. “But I think that goes back to [the teenage] generation and the high schoolers that had gotten involved were amazing in social media and really connecting the city.”

Considering the event was planned in a time crunch, East students involved with Coalition and Race Project KC spread the word about the rally through digital posters via social media. The posters included information about where to meet and ideas of what to bring. Williams believes this method of promotion is what garnered a crowd of that size. 

According to Feinberg and East parent Trudy Williams, the youth involvement with the rally was crucial in spreading their message because they’re going to be the people who can continue to make a change. 

“This generation seems to be unafraid to show their support as opposed to my generation, we were more quiet or on the sidelines, kinda fearful,” Trudy Williams said. “[I hope] that people will take the time to look at a person, listen to a person, take action when they see something unjust and help make a change.” 

After the rally, SME Coalition posted on their Instagram about the “next steps” the East community can take to better themselves, whether that be reading antiracist books or signing various petitions. As speaker and former East teacher David Muhammad said in his speech, this movement is a marathon and it won’t just die down, so with that, Coalition and East administration will continue pushing for change. 

Associate Principal Susan Leonard hopes the rally is only a starting point and that the East community will continue to grow and learn. Although specific plans of action have not been decided, Leonard has been listening and discussing ideas with students and staff members. 

“Now we need to encourage each other to do the hard work,” Leonard said. “And when you see a crowd like that, maybe next time you find yourself in a position where you can be a better advocate, a better ally, a better bystander — you remember how you felt in that crowd and you feel more encouraged to say something, to step up, to do something different and confront racism where it is.”