Privatizing Westport Sidewalks Is About Protecting Lives

People out at night in Westport

As a frequent patron of Westport, I understand when business owners want to take action to make it a safer place. Westport is a center of what is Kansas City’s vibrant nightlife. Its reputation has taken a hit this year due to violent people committing criminal acts using firearms. Primarily, these acts have taken place…

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Let’s Not Quiet the Conversation

  Sexual harassment isn’t something that just happens in Hollywood, in the halls of Congress, and major television networks. It happens close to home, no matter where home is. This past week, a local actress friend posted about a Kansas City theater writer/producer who harassed her by private Facebook messages. She posted screenshots of his…

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The Fatigue of Discomfort

Cover image for Michelle T Johnson On "Exhaustion"

Unless you often enter a space where you need to do an instinctive assessment of your environment based on race, you may not get why I’m so tired. This past weekend, between errands in another part of town, I spent a couple of hours knitting in a coffee shop. It was a hopping place. But…

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Let’s Put a Priority on Doing Good Work

cover image for Michelle T. Johnson

Society does a real number on us regarding what the “important” professions are in the world. As with many beliefs we are indoctrinated with, they’re not always true. That’s why when I look at the budget threat to the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s theater department, including the potential cut of four more faculty members, I…

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Protecting the Playwright Preserves Our Truth

Cover image for Michelle T Johnson on... writer's intent

Edward Albee and Shonda Rhimes. Funny how the twain can meet. The other night, a tornado watch interrupted the season finale of the TV show “Scandal.” That lead to a protracted ripple of conversation among my friends regarding the intense monologue by a character in that episode on the state of being a black woman…

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