The mea culpa was part of “The truth in Black and white,” a six-part series investigating past racist coverage from one of the Midwest’s most influential newspapers. As the Star became one of the strongest media outlets in the region, its coverage of Black people remained nonexistent into the civil rights movement. Instead, Black-owned publications like the Kansas City Call and the Kansas City Sun covered a community that was being purposefully ignored by the Star’s leadership. When Jackie Robinson, who had played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, the Times buried the milestone on page 18. Charlie “Bird” Parker, the great jazz saxophonist who was born and raised in Kansas City, failed to earn a significant headline in the Star.

Source: Washington Post December 21, 2020 11:37 UTC