RideKC Blog

Alvin Brooks is a Kansas City icon for his community focused leadership which paved the way for criminal justice reform in Kansas City.

Willie Arthur Smith is an icon in the Kansas City area for his dedicated work with the youth of this city. Smith created Kansas City's first high school drill team: The Marching Cobras.

Horace Michael “Pete” Peterson, III was a historian who captured the oral histories that helped shaped the Midwest. Peterson founded the Black Archives of Mid-America.

Dr. Samuel U. Rodgers paved the way by creating equitable access to healthcare for the poor in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Rev. Dr. A.L. Johnson Sr., was a great man of faith, vision and compassion and he paved the way as a humanitarian and activist in Kansas City. You can find Johnson's Honor Plaque at southbound Prospect at Swope Parkway. 

Fred Curls paved the way in the real estate industry and through his political involvement in the Kansas City community. In 1952, Curls took a job at a friend’s real estate agency where he learned the real estate business.

Bernard Powell was a civil rights activist who encouraged and facilitated investment around the Prospect community, at a time when people outside the community did not see the potential.

Rayford “Ray” Harris was one of the first five Black bus drivers for KCATA. RideKC and the Prospect MAX Advisory Committee are honoring Ray Harris as part of the Paving the Way Honor Plaque program as part of the new Prospect MAX line.

Lucile Bluford was a journalist with a passion to publish the everyday stories of black life in Kansas City. She was editor of the Kansas City Call and a leading voice in the civil rights movement. RideKC and the Prospect MAX Advisory Committee are honoring Lucile Bluford as part of the Paving the Way Honor Plaque program as part of the new Prospect MAX line. 

RideKC and the Prospect MAX Advisory Committee are honoring Rev. Hartsfield as part of the Paving the Way Honor Plaque program as part of the new Prospect MAX line.