RESOLUTION NO. 220704

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Recognizing the Summer Youth Leadership Core of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2) and the eighteen (18) metro area youth participants.

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WHEREAS, Kennedy Booze, Madison Chestnut, Landon Hamell, Caden Howard, Jeffery Johnson, Jr., Jakobi King, Kelli King, Carter Lewis, Jaxson Lewis, Antwan Lowery-Taylor, Miracle Mason, Aspen Piggie, Zaria Redick, Jaxton Taylor, Kevin Toney, Jr., Cortney Williams, Guilian Williams, and Kendall Woodard, participated in weekly leadership training sessions focused on learning to address issues in our community; and

WHEREAS, these youth shared about leaders they each admire, from Mamie Till to Stacey Abrams, and learned about "self-interest" and power; and

WHEREAS, these youth practiced building relationships in order to build power and learned the difference between private and public relationships; and

WHEREAS, they experienced and learned to have effective meetings and identified issues that can address problems in our community; and

WHEREAS, they employed everything they learned and chose violence as the problem they wanted to address; and

WHEREAS, one team held a well-attended press conference to discuss the importance of responsible gun laws and less bias in media and the other team proposed a city funded violence interruption hotline, met with Mayor Quinton Lucas, Councilwoman Melissa Robinson and Councilwoman Rayna Parks-Shaw to ask for their commitment to realize it; NOW, THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

That the Mayor and Council hereby recognize MORE2 as a social justice organization representing different faith traditions, cultural backgrounds, races, and economic means and the commitment and contributions of the eighteen participants of the Summer Leadership Core: and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes of the Council in testimony in thereof and that a copy hereof be presented to Lora McDonald, Executive Director of MORE2, with gratitude from the Mayor and Council of Kansas City, Missouri.

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