The Line Has Been Crossed: Prairie Village Mayor Eric Mikkelson forms diversity task force

The Prairie Village Diversity Task Force was formed in August by Mayor Eric Mikkelson to meet and compile a list of prioritized tasks in the coming months to combat racism and improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the city. 

The diversity task force does not have the power to make decisions for the city, but it can compile a list of tasks for the City Council to vote on. Currently they’ve held two virtual meetings to discuss racial equity and housing discrimination. By the end of the third meeting, the task force will have compiled a list of actions for the City Council to vote on. Some ideas that have been proposed by the task force include distributing pamphlets on what Black Lives Matter means in Prairie Village, planning cultural festivities and art installations, decriminalizing marijuana and amending discriminatory house covenants, which restricted Black people and people of color from purchasing land in Prairie Village.

Some projects such as informational pamphlets and cultural events are more short-term, while many of the task force’s plans will take several years to start to see effects, such as how to keep Prairie Village homes affordable and accessible for a variety of income levels and backgrounds.

“To a certain extent in life, we all kind of have blinders on about experiences,” Mikkelson said. “And so you really need to take the time to listen to seek out opinions and viewpoints of people who are very different than you if you want to understand their problems and help them with them. And that makes us all stronger, as a city. That’s why we’re doing it.”

Members of the task force include City Council members, Prairie Village residents, diversity training experts and a police department representative, Major Bryon Roberson. Mikkelson selected these members through recommendations by the community and City Hall, but also welcomed residents who requested to join after hearing of its formation. However, Mikkelson had to turn down some of the requests because he did not want the task force to become too large. 

Within the next month, Mikkelson plans to add a member to the task force from the Teen City Council, the program Prairie Village offers for high school students to get involved in local government.

Over the last two virtual meetings, held on Sept. 22 and Oct. 20, the council brainstormed ideas on how to make people of color feel more welcome in Prairie Village and how to increase the city’s diversity. At the first meeting, Kathryn Evans, a United Community Services of Johnson County representative, gave a presentation about racial equity in Johnson County. At the second meeting, council member Igna Selders presented on ways to remove the racist housing covenants. 

“I think the task force will try to prioritize what I’ll call quick win[s], or lower hanging fruit, things that can be solved easily, i.e. the recognition of diverse religious holidays,” Prairie VIllage resident and task force member Todd Harris said. “But I think that if [we] really want to have an impact, we need to tackle some of the bigger issues, i.e. affordable housing.”

Harris also believes the task force needs to address the implicit bias people of color in Prairie Village face — especially regarding the police. 

According to the Prairie Village Police Department, 17.79% of traffic stops in Prairie Village involve Black people, while Black people only make up for 5% of the Prairie Village population. According to Roberson, at the last meeting, this disparity also could be impacted by heavily trafficked roads such as Mission Road and 75th St where many drivers are not from Prairie Village. The task force discussed the percentage of traffic stops that involved Black people and the disparity of marijuana charges between white and Black people in Prairie Village. 

“Black or brown people who are in this area, or travel through, potentially face more scrutiny [from the police],” Harris said. “So I think that there needs to be additional training, which I know the police chief and I have talked about.”

Prairie Village is estimated to be 95% white — one of the lasting effects of redlining and deed restrictions in Kansas City placed by J.C. Nichols in the early 1900s, according to Mikkelson. Deed restrictions are clauses added to property deeds that put limitations on the property. In this case, it restricts the race of the inhabitants. 

“Although we have people of color here in Prairie Village, [deed restrictions are] still on the record, and so that could take effect any day,” East parent and task force member Trudy Williams said. “And we[, people of color,] could all be told to leave the city…So for me that’s kind of uncomfortable. Kind of unsettling knowing that it’s still there, and that [the city] could get another mayor, and it could change.”

Though the racial deed restrictions became illegal in 1948, they were never removed from the deeds. Despite no longer being enforced, deed restrictions are still in the fine print of many Prairie Village home associations to this day. 

Selders researched and presented ways to remove the deed restrictions at the last meeting. One solution to removing the deed restrictions involved dissolving the home associations in which these deed restrictions are present, such as the Prairie Village Homes Association, and forming new ones. Another solution involved having the city require home associations to remove all deed restrictions within 30 days. Some task force members would rather dissolve the home associations entirely and leave that chapter of Prairie Village history in the past. Others would rather take the route that they feel would be the easiest — removing the deed restrictions from the home associations. 

Prairie Village resident and freshman Sahela Taylor believes the idea of the task force is a good start, especially in a predominantly white community like Prairie Village.

“I just don’t want them to give up because it’s a really cool thing that’s developing and, of course, they’re gonna get hate from a ton of kids,” Taylor said. “I just don’t want them to give up [and] let themselves fade away, because it’s good that now someone out there has my back.” 

“I just don’t want them to give up because it’s a really cool thing that’s developing and, of course, they’re gonna get hate from a ton of kids,” Taylor said. “I just don’t want them to give up [and] let themselves fade away, because it’s good that now someone out there has my back.” 

In June, Williams, alongside other community members and East students, organized a silent march in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protestors marched down Mission Road before gathering to listen to several speakers at the Prairie Village Shopping Center. 

“For us, we didn’t know how many people would show up,” Williams said. “We were thinking maybe 50 or 60 people would show up; now we hear 1,500-2,000 [people came] — people started pouring into the grounds of the police station. It really helped us feel that people were interested in learning more or wanting to be supportive.” 

Mikkelson saw kids drawing on sidewalks with Black Lives Matter slogans and senior residents coming out of their houses in walkers to show support for the protesters. The Prairie Village Police Department helped clear the area of traffic and provided supplies. 

“I think that rally and protest, [the] Stand Up for Black Lives one in June, permanently and positively changed Prairie Village for the better,” Mikkelson said. “I really do…it was a wonderful event, a transformative event for the city, in my opinion. The speeches at the rally in Macy’s were some tough speeches. But they kept it peaceful. The message was peaceful. And it went off very, very smoothly.”

Though Mikkelson has received large amounts of positive feedback for the task force from the community, he has also received responses from residents asking to allow for more discussions and chances for people to share stories during their meetings. According to Mikkelson, others have criticized the task force for talking too much or have complained about the existence of the task force itself. 

“There is racism in America,” Mikkelson said. “And there is still racism in Prairie Village. We have seen it and we have heard it, and we have gotten emails that embody it. Now, I have evidence to believe that it is just a very small minority of people in Prairie Village who have those types of views…but they can be vocal. When you’re [an] elected official, you hear those. And that’s okay. That’s my job, is to hear those and listen to those, and then make up my mind about what the right thing to do for Prairie Village is.”

Regardless, Mikkelson is proud of the changes the task force is working towards and is looking forward to the transition from planning to taking action.

“There’s no ensuring [change],” Mikkelson said. “All we can do is increase the chances of it happening, and that’s what the task force does. The mere existence of it does that. The conversations we’re having do that. The policy that the council ultimately enacts based on task force recommendations will increase the chances of positive change in Prairie Village.”

So far, two meetings have been held virtually. A third meeting has not been scheduled yet, but will most likely take place in a few weeks. Although the task force initially intended on only holding three meetings before passing their prioritized list of actions to the City Council, task force members have since shown interest in continuing to meet. Currently, they have not decided if and for how long they will continue to meet. 

All of the task force’s meetings are available for the public to view through Zoom or recordings on Prairie Village’s website. The public can join the Zoom meetings and use the chat function to message a task force member questions or comments. Public participation is encouraged, and those interested in making suggestions for the group can email City Council members or task force members. 

“I am convinced more every day, based on what I’m hearing and seeing from many, many people, most people, that [the task force] has been a good thing for us to do,” Mikkelson said. “It’s going to be very interesting to see where this leads. And I’m excited about it. I think we’re going to — I think we’ve already improved Prairie Village. And I think we will continue to do that.”