Alvin Brooks should be the next mayor of Kansas City

Like most of you, I'm from a family that underwent a divorce. That means that I don't believe in anything. I could go on and on about how great I think Mexicans are and some of you might agree just to piss off your father while most of you would simply write me off with the most clever epithet involving "bean picker" you could devise. However, I think something more important came out of yesterday's Immigrant Rights protest at Liberty Memorial than simply a plea for workable guest worker program or a response against the hateful, racist and myopic undercurrent that seems to bolster Anti-Immigrant (read: anti-Mexican) activists . . . Alvin Brooks emerged as a true leader in Kansas City's political scene and moved beyond petty civic bickering or the racially polarized voting districts that have marked this town's history as he advocated for human rights.

"This is the land of opportunity . . . You cannot put 12 million people in jail. You cannot deport 12 million," Brooks said.

He was inspiring. His appearance excited the crowd not only because he serves as Mayor Pro Tem but also because of his long history of community activism. In recent years, I've managed to make fun of a great deal of things that the man has been involved with because I'm a cynical bastard and because I know KC politics is steeped in posturing for PR events disguised as charity work. Also, everyone knows that his work in the Black community is legendary but because this city is so segregated it might as well be work done overseas. Finally, the Cleaver legacy has tainted the view of East side politics so much that you can't blame most people for being a little suspicious of the monolithic Black vote in this town when it has so often supported the most corrupt and ineffective leaders year after year. Yet, all of this is simply the same old KC debate among districts that's informed by years of intolerance and goes back far beyond the days of segregation. Still, with one speech Alvin Brooks transcended Kansas City's history.

It's easy to underplay the importance of these Immigrant Rights protests. The local TV media quickly move on to other stories and downplay the numbers in attendance because comprehensive coverage gets their regular audience of shut-ins upset. But I was there and if there were 5 people, there were 5,000 in attendance at the very least. Families , small children and young people filled the park chanting "Si, se puede!" as the smell of a taco stand made me hungry and a little angry that I forgot to bring any cash from home. In this carnival atmosphere Alvin Brooks stood up and took what might have been one of the biggest gambles of his political career.

And while I noted that I'm from a divorced family, I'm not a child anymore; I know that there was political capital at stake. The racist white guys who would object to this kind of thing weren't going to vote for Brooks anyway and while many Black people aren't too jazzed about undocumented workers in this country few (of the sane ones) think it represents a threat to the Black community. Also, it's likely that Brooks support of Immigrant Rights would elicit more than a few Latino supporters like myself who would subsequently vote for him in the upcoming mayoral election. True enough, but these facts didn't inspire any other mayoral candidates to attend the event and show their support or even take the opposite strategy and align themselves with the rag-tag group of counter protestors who endorse Krazy Kris Kobach and his string of unsuccessful grabs at power - in hope of gaining support from that small but very loud throng.

No, Alvin Brooks was the only prominent politician in Kansas City to take a stand on this national issue that also hits home.

In doing so, he not only proved that his work for justice in the Black community is based on principles that apply to everyone in this town but also he demonstrated the courage to take a stand on an important issue. Having listened for years to politicians and political hopefuls who obfuscate, misdirect and spin every soundbyte offered for public consumption . . . I realize, finally, that more than his words . . . The leadership of Alvin Brooks is what's really inspiring and what Kansas City needs from its next mayor.