Bruce Riley Watkins (March 20, 1924,

Parkville, Missouri Parkville is a city in Platte County, Missouri, Platte County, Missouri, United States and is a part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The population was 7,177 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to the 2022 census, the ...

- September 13, 1980

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

) and his stepfather Theron B. Watkins (1877–1950) were prominent political and social activists in Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri. The younger Watkins was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

elected to Kansas City's City Council, in 1963; the first African-American elected to office in that county's administration, in 1966; and the first African-American to nearly win election as Kansas City Mayor, in April 1979. Although initially running as a republican, like his stepfather, Bruce R. Watkins later switched his political affiliation and served as Chair of the Jackson County Democratic Committee. Watkins and his close friend Leon Jordan established the political club "

Freedom, Inc. Freedom, Inc. or Freedom, Incorporated of Kansas City Missouri is a political organization founded in 1961 by five African-American political activists, Bruce Watkins, Howard Maupin, Charles Moore, Fred Curls, Leon Jordan. This was crucial to Desegr ...

" in 1962.

Monuments

Monuments erected in his honor include the Spirit of Freedom fountain at Brush Creek Boulevard and Cleveland Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri and the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center at Blue Parkway and Cleveland Avenue and Bruce R. Watkins Drive (

US 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Intersta ...

), a major thoroughfare in Kansas City completed October 22, 2001. Both landmarks are within walking distance of the family business co-founded by Theron Watkins, Watkins Brothers Memorial Chapel.

City Council

During his time on City Council, Watkins championed civil rights and equal employment opportunities. On Sept 13, 1963, he established Public Accommodations Ordinance No. 29153 which prohibited race-based discrimination in private businesses. This legislation was hotly contested and submitted to a public referendum before finally passing on April 18, 1964.

Cultural Heritage Center

The Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, dedicated in December 1989, is dedicated to the legacy of Mr. Watkins. It features exhibits about the artistic, cultural and social history of the African-American experience.

References

External links

Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center
- official site
Biographical Flyer about Bruce R. Watkins
distributed by Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center.
"Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center is on a Mission to Commemorate Black Kansas City History"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Bruce R. 1924 births 1980 deaths Politicians from Kansas City, Kansas People from Parkville, Missouri African-American city council members in Missouri Activists for African-American civil rights 20th-century African-American people