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How Racism Shaped Kansas City, And Khizr Khan On What It Means To Be An American

B. Allen
/
VOA
One sentence in a card from neighborhood school-children motivated Khizr Khan to deliver his 2016 convention speech: "Mr. Khan, would you make sure that [our friend] Maria is not thrown out of this country, we love her, she's our friend."

It's no secret that race influences a lot of things in our lives, including how our cities are laid out. Today, urban designer Tyler Cukar explains the lasting legacy of racism and redlining that's shaped Kansas City, and how we can move toward a more racially integrated future. Then, if you remember one image from last year's Democratic National Convention, it's probably of Khizr Khan. The Gold Star father raised a lot of attention when he held up a copy of the Constitution and challenged Donald Trump to give it a read. We talk with Khan about his new memoir, islamophobia and what he thinks it means to be an American.

Tyler Cukar will present 'Orchestrated Urbanism: The Race-Built Cityat the Center for Architecture & Design at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29. The event is sold out. To add your name to the wait-list, visit cfadkc.org.

Khizr Khan will introduce his book 'An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice' at Unity Temple on the Plaza at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 30. For more information, go to RainyDayBooks.com.

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.