Protests spark move to rename iconic Kansas City fountain

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In this photo taken Tuesday, June 23, 2020, people gather at the J.C. Nichols fountain in Kansas City, Mo. The city's board of parks and recreation is considering a proposal to remove the J.C. Nichols name from the fountain and a nearby street as they address racial concerns about the influential local developer. Nichols developed some of the area's most desirable neighborhoods as well as the city's County Club Plaza shopping district in the early 1900's but excluded Blacks, Jews and other minorities using deed restrictions on his properties. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

racial-injustice-kansas-city-fountain

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Protests in Kansas City over the death of George Floyd may lead the city to rename one of its most iconic sites, the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain near the Country Club Plaza. Nichols was a developer who transformed the Kansas City area in the early 1900s by building the upscale Plaza and thousands of homes in well-maintained subdivisions. But he used deed restrictions to keep Blacks, Jews and other minorities from buying his homes, helping create a racially separated city that remains to this day. In response to that history, the Kansas City Parks Commission is considering removing Nichols’ name from the fountain and an adjacent parkway.