Key Takeaways
- Mary Dean’s reparations push stalls after setbacks, removal, and lawsuit.
- Mayor Wu opposes; Councilman Johnson supports but urges patience.
- Advocates point to Kansas City’s slow, coalition-driven success as a model.
The push to establish a reparations commission in Wichita has been contentious and, so far, unsuccessful. The debate reached a boiling point last month when community advocate Mary Dean was escorted out of a city council meeting at the direction of Mayor Lily Wu after pressing for answers about the status of the ordinance she proposed to establish a Wichita reparations commission.
Dean has spent more than a year working to create the commission that would study how policies and practices of the City of Wichita harmed African-American residents. The council referred the ordinance to the city’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights Advisory Board (DICRAB) for review and a vote of support or denial. Instead, DICRAB referred the ordinance back to the council without a recommendation.
Not long after, amid federal warnings that cities could lose funding if they continued diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Wichita disbanded DICRAB entirely — and the reparations ordinance was left in limbo.
At the Aug. 5 council meeting, Dean used her allotted time during the public comment period to push for answers and action on the ordinance. When her time was up, Dean pressed on despite several warnings. The mayor told Dean that if she didn’t walk away, she would have her escorted out.
Determined to continue, Dean told the mayor she would have to be escorted out — and that’s exactly what happened.
Within two weeks, Dean filed a federal lawsuit against the city, Wu, members of the council, City Manager Robert Layton, and City Attorney Jennifer Magana, alleging discrimination, retaliation, and civil rights violations tied to her ordinance and her removal.
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Wu: Reparations Shouldn’t Be Local
Mayor Wu has made clear she does not support a local reparations commission. In a Jan. 2, 2025 letter to Dean, she wrote: “While I admire your commitment to a path seeking equity and justice, I respectfully disagree on the implementation of a local reparations ordinance.” She called the issue “extremely complex,” warned it could be divisive, and argued it might undermine the resilience of Wichita’s Black community.
Based on the position she expressed, Wu told The Community Voice she didn’t understand why Dean hadn’t sought another council member to introduce the ordinance.
“I’m just one member of the council,” she emphasized, pointing out that any other member could have introduced the ordinance for discussion or a vote.
Johnson: The Effort is “Righteous”
Councilman Brandon Johnson, the only African-American member of the council, has been the most vocal supporter of Dean’s proposal, but he did not enter a motion for consideration of the ordinance.
About the confrontation in council chambers, he says it “could have been handled better,” noting that the mayor had options besides removal, including recessing the meeting.
Johnson says he worked with Dean to adapt her draft ordinance, which was modeled after Kansas City’s.
“For example, the ordinance originally gave the mayor appointment power,” he explained. “I asked her if she really wanted this mayor to make all the appointments, or if she preferred the council to do it. She agreed to shift appointments to the council.”
Johnson acknowledged that the city’s legal staff was stretched thin with other priorities. “Reparations wasn’t the No. 1 issue,” he said, adding that Dean was frustrated by how long things take in city government.
“That was frustrating for Mary, and it’s frustrating for me too.”
“When you talk about housing discrimination and neighborhood disinvestment, people get it. That’s reparations work, even if the word turns some off.”
Wichita Councilmember Brandon Johnson
Still, he insists the effort is important. “Her push to get a commission formed is righteous,” Johnson said. “It may not be a check handed to descendants of slaves, but it might mean looking at how redlining impacted our communities and what we can do with city resources. We can invest in parks, housing, and infrastructure in neighborhoods that were harmed. That’s the kind of impact a commission could have.”
Lessons From Kansas City
Kansas City organizer Mickey Dean, who helped build support for that city’s reparations commission, has advised MaryDean during the process. His advice, gained from years of working to get action in KC, is: build a coalition, secure a council champion, and be patient.
Mickey Dean spent five years researching and lobbying before Kansas City’s reparations commission was approved in 2023.
“It doesn’t happen quickly,” he said. “You have to keep educating people on what reparations really is. Once they understand, support grows.”
Both Johnson and Mary Dean agree the word “reparations” itself creates hurdles. Johnson believes reframing the conversation around redlining and city policies could help build broader support.
“When you talk about housing discrimination and neighborhood disinvestment, people get it,” he said. “That’s reparations work, even if the word turns some off.”
The Road Ahead
For now, Wichita’s reparations proposal remains stalled — caught between local politics, federal headwinds, and community frustration. Dean’s lawsuit ensures the issue won’t disappear, but real progress may depend on the slow, deliberate coalition-building that worked in Kansas City.
“People want change fast,” Johnson said. “But if we take the time to explain the impact of generations of decisions made at every level of government, I think we can get there. The work is righteous, and in Wichita it could do some real good.”
