Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum and a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission.
A chief of police candidate in Wichita a few years back said during the public interview process that an officer’s racism wasn’t necessarily a dealbreaker for employment. That response alarmed the Black community at the time — particularly because biased traffic stops around the country had recently escalated into shooting deaths — but nothing much came of it.
The question of what is or should be a disqualifying factor for police employment has taken on new urgency as the Jan. 6 commission uncovers more levels of criminality leading up to and taking place on that day. What are we to make of police officers who were among the white supremacists and seditionists storming the Capitol?
Should they be held to account just for their actions — which has been proved beyond doubt to be criminal — without regard for racist speech? Were they merely swept up in the moment, mimicking the language and actions of the president who summoned them there? (Recall, while still a private citizen living in his New York tower, Donald Trump claimed to have evidence proving that Barack Obama was ineligible to run for president because he wasn’t born in the United...
"Breaking news: Sri Lanka has been removed from the United Nations," says superimposed Sinhala-language text on a Facebook graphic shared on September 25, 2026 The graphic also features a photo of...