When the Black Economic Union was recognized earlier this month by the Kansas City, Missouri City Council, the proclamation honored nearly six decades of affordable housing, Black business development, community investment and redevelopment work in the historic 18th & Vine District.
The recognition, which included the presentation of a city proclamation, was led by Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw, who praised the organization’s long-standing role in shaping economic development in Kansas City’s Black community.
“The organization stands as a powerful testament to visionary leadership, community partnership, and the belief that economic opportunity strengthens entire communities,” Parks-Shaw said.
But the recognition only scratched the surface of the organization’s history — and its impact on Kansas City.
From Civil Rights to “Green Power”
Long before the Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation was formed in 1997, the Black Economic Union was already trying to turn Black power into what its founders called “green power.”
The organization traces its roots to the historic 1967 Cleveland Summit organized by former NFL star Jim Brown. Brown brought together some of the nation’s top Black athletes — including Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — to support Ali after he refused induction into the Vietnam War draft.
But the gathering also became a conversation about economic empowerment and “green power” at a time when much of the Civil Rights Movement was still focused on Black power in the form of voting rights, addressing segregation and access.
Out of that movement came the Negro Industrial and Economic Union, later renamed the Black Economic Union. Kansas City became one of the organization’s earliest chapters in 1968, led in large part by former Kansas City Chiefs running back Curtis McClinton, who was in attendance at the 1967 summit.
McClinton, a Wichita native, brought more than football fame to the Black Economic Union. The former Kansas City Chiefs running back became the first president of the Kansas City chapter and played a major role in shaping its early development vision. McClinton later built a career in banking, real estate and economic development, helping found Kansas City’s first Black-owned bank, Swope Parkway Bank, and later serving in national development roles with the Department of Commerce, Amtrak and the Washington, D.C. mayor’s office — positions that helped him continue guiding and supporting BEU’s growth long after his football career ended.
Nearly 60 years later, Kansas City’s chapter is believed to be the only continuously active BEU chapter remaining in the country and its influence on Kansas City runs far deeper than many residents realize.
Building 18th & Vine Before It Was Trendy
In 1979, the organization developed the office and commercial buildings at the northwest corner of 18th and Paseo, including the buildings now housing the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and Full Employment Council offices.
It also developed warehouse space east of the former Attucks School building, now home to the Zhou B Art Center campus.
That same year, BEU purchased the historic Lincoln Building at 18th and Vine and began renovations on the structure.
The organization’s work in the district was never just about entertainment.
Former BEU director Chester Thompson said during a 2012 interview the goal was always broader community development.
“We’re going to develop a community,” Thompson said. “Not just an entertainment district.”
That vision included housing, commercial development, small businesses and neighborhood investment stretching south from 18th & Vine to 29th Street.
Today, that vision is firmly taking shape on the north end of the district, where housing, restaurants, museums, offices and entertainment venues now create steady activity. But much of their vision for South Vine — the area south of the railroad tracks to 29th Street — was cleared but remains mostly undeveloped.
Housing, Businesses and Community Development
Still, the body of their work is quite impressive.
Over the decades, BEU helped facilitate development of 635 affordable multifamily housing units, 320 elderly housing units, 85 single-family homes and more than 720,000 square feet of office, retail and commercial space in Kansas City’s urban core.
Among its major housing developments were MLK Village Apartments, completed in 2004 near 25th and Euclid, and Basie Court Apartments at 1940 Woodland, completed in 2010 to provide affordable housing in the Jazz District area.
BEU was also one of the earliest Community Development Corporations in the country, a concept that gained national attention during the Kennedy administration as a way to address urban poverty and neighborhood decline.
BEU’s work is credited with encouraging the growth of other community development corporations and nonprofit development work in Kansas City, including efforts connected to Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center and Swope Health.
Both organizations became more than health centers, expanding into housing and commercial development aimed at strengthening surrounding neighborhoods. Swope Health eventually spun off Community Builders, one of the largest CDCs in the country.
While the pace of development slowed in recent years, BEU has continued work in the areas of affordable housing and business and workforce development. Their work also includes financial literacy programming, youth engagement initiatives and efforts including their Youth Ambassadors program.
Eric Hawthorne Sr., the organization’s director of economic development, said BEU remains focused on helping residents build long-term economic stability.
The Unfinished Vision for South Vine
BEU’s influence can still be seen in current redevelopment efforts around the Jazz District.
In the early 2000s, Bank of America partnered on plans for a massive redevelopment of South Vine that would have brought new housing and mixed-use development across nearly 100 acres. When those plans collapsed, longtime BEU board adviser Vewiser Dixon acquired control of large portions of the land through negotiations and redevelopment agreements.
Earlier this year, Dixon announced a new partnership and updated plans for redeveloping the historic “castle” property near 20th and Vine into The Jazonian — a proposed boutique hotel, event center and winery that continues the redevelopment vision BEU began decades ago.
Summit Revives Push for Black Investment
That project was among several highlighted during last week’s “The Next Play: BEU Ownership & Investment Summit.”
Attending the summit, almost 60 years after the original one their fathers attended, were Dr. Marguerite McClinton-Stoglin, daughter of Curtis McClinton, and Kim Brown, daughter of Jim Brown.
Together, along with John Wooten — who attended the original Cleveland Summit and later served in BEU leadership for decades — they are working to refocus attention on BEU, its legacy of economic development and its original push to get professional athletes investing financially in the growth of urban communities.
A proposed Enterprise Impact Capital Opportunity Zone Fund was introduced during the summit as a way to attract investment into Black-led development projects along the Prospect Corridor and South Vine areas. Organizers hope the fund can attract investments from Black athletes with a goal of building “green power” in Black communities.
Nearly 60 years after Black athletes gathered in Cleveland to support Muhammad Ali and discuss economic independence, BEU’s leaders are still chasing the same goal — turning influence, ownership and investment into long-term community wealth.
