Bruce R Watkins Kansas City, Missouri Leader and Successful Black Entrepreneur
July 14, 2008
Bruce R. Watkins was Kansas City’s first African Ameriican city council member and he also made a serious run for Kansas City mayor. Richard Berkley beat him, but make no mistake in that Watkins made a deep impact.
The impact was so deep that Kansas City considers Bruce R. Watkins as a local hero worthy of historic recognition. In his name and honor are the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center located in Kansas City and the Spriti of Freedom fountain.
Watkins stepfather was Theron B. (T.B.) Watkins, who married his mother, Olivia and adopted Bruce when he was a young boy. Theron served on the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners from 1941 to 1948. The T.B. Watkins Housing Complex was named after him and is located on 12th and Woodland for his hardwork and commitment to the community.
T.B. was big on rallying folks together to work on community projects such as the Kansas City clean-up campaign of 1940. He organized the Gateway Athletic Association to help the Kansas City youth by participating in sports and raised money through fundraisers for the construction of the Paseo branch of teh YMCA.
Bruce Watkins, who rose to become chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Committee, once followed in his father’s footsteps and actively served in the Republican Party.
As city councilman, Bruce successfully fought for civil rights issues by pushing for equal employment opportunities at city hall. He introduced Public Accommodations Ordinance No. 29153, which prohibited discrimination against African-Americans in all public business establishments, including restaurants, stores and theaters. The city council passed the ordinance on September 13, 1963. The ordinance was then subjected to a public referendum in one of the city’s most heated campaigns. The issue passed by 1700 votes on April 8, 1964.
Bruce was sworn in as a Jackson County Circuit Court Clerk in 1966, where he is credited with streamlining the office’s accounting system, investing idle funds, upgrading office equipment and establishing a businesslike approach to employee problems.
Bruce R. Watkins lost his battle with cancer in 1980 but his legacy still lives on. Undoubetedly, his own son, Bruce R. Watkins, Jr. is active in the Kansas City community and continues in his father’s footsteps as a successful businessman.
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I will be visiting Kansas City in July for the NAACP Convention. My book Harlem Son, a memoir about growing up in Harlem starting in the 1950’s was selected to be part of the NAACP-Author Pavilion at the Kansas City Convention Center. As I study more about your great city, It’s a joy reading about people like Bruce R Watkins, the first African American city council member.
I hate niggers. A race war is coming. .
A race war is coming? We are living in some of the worse economic times since 1929 and we have oil coming up all over the Gulf Coast. People are losing their jobs and homes and this FOOL is talking about a race war! We live in a time when folks should be working together to make life better for all of us, we have nuts like this talking about a race war. These problems we face have nothing to do with race and those who try to make it that way should be checked.
The Bruce R. Watkins Cultural and Heritage Center is a fine and lasting tribute not only for Bruce R. Watkins but of the African American experience in Kansas City and the state of Missouri in performing arts, artistic showcases movies, lectures, workshops, stage performances, celebrations of life, films, and special ceremonies. Come… experience it.
When I worked (like a dog), this would be the time of the year that I would stop paying Social Security tax. It was not a lot of money, but it just made me feel good when I had a little extra money in my pocket. My point. While most of us are just sitting on the side lines watching the president and the GOP decide what to do about taxes, we should be calling everyone in Congress to tell them we want a payroll holiday, I mean, Its your money. You bailed out banks who turned around and tried to take people’s homes. Say what you want about the Tea Party, if they have nothing, they have guts.
This will also be a good time to get to know who represents you. We are all busy, and some don’t want to get involved. We put these people in office and if you don’t tell them what you want, they will listen to the other person in there ear. Every call to a congressional staffer represents 100 calls. This is one of those issues that everyone can agree with, even your working kids.
Be careful now, your job may have rules against political activity, so wait until you get off. This is also a way to talk about some issues that won’t break out in a fight. Conservatives may say that tax holiday’s don’t work, but did they say that when they were giving your money to the banks. If there is anthing to big to fail, It’s the people.’
I do agree that our political people must know what we want. And I am concerned that Obama does not implement nor represent the issues of black people. I think it is because we are not saying anything. We are likely just grateful that we have a black president. But I keep hearing stories of black people getting verbally assaulted by tea bagger types who are so angry about Obama. I wish I had more time to clearly write my thoughts but if you research Cornell West and his commentary of Obama, he eloquently describes the issue.
Dear Readers,
Mention of or predicting violence between any sets of people is really……disrespectful to all Americans, but those of African descent should never have to see or hear such thinking. And of all people….it should never be associated with Mr. Watkins or his family…..the family members are all humble, preach peace, equality, fairness for ALL Americans… even the ones who have hatred.
I hope this person who wrote the prediction of violence never has to suffer from seeing a family member ever harmed for any reason. The Watkins family are morticians…..they have for more then 100 years had to bury….so many people whose lives have been untimely ended by violence aganist them because of their color. They keep at their job, quietly, guided by a philosophy which dates straight back to their 1860’s roots: “be nice”.
Larry Goldblatt