Freedom Wall Commission

Purpose

• The Commission’s purpose is to select inductees for the Monument to Freedom, Justice and Courage, which is located in the Leon Jordan Memorial Park at 31st and Benton Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. The Freedom Wall honors those individuals (either living or deceased), who have demonstrated, either currently or in the past, exceptional leadership qualities in their ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of life in the urban community of Jackson County, Missouri. 
• The Commission meets annually to select up to 100 inductees for 10 years.  The Inaugural Commission created the guidelines for the selection process.
• With the assistance of Jackson County government, the Commission will plan induction ceremonies each year that appropriately honor inductees and/or their families. The Commission may decide to conduct these ceremonies during Black History Month, or on Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday or on any other date the Commission may choose.

 

Composition

• The County Executive appoints 11 members to the commission.
• All members must be residents of Jackson County.
• One member must be a County Legislator.
• All members must be business, community and/or neighborhood leaders who possess significant knowledge about the civil rights movement and the contributions of African Americans and other minority groups to the history and development of Jackson County, Missouri. 
• The County Executive solicits nominations to the Commission from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Metropolitan Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2), the Metropolitan Community Colleges, Penn Valley Campus, and neighborhood organizations within Jackson County, Missouri. 

 

Members	Term Expires
Ronald E. Finley (County Legislator - 2nd District)	Dec. 31, 2021
Leon Dixon, Jr.	Sept. 21, 2021
Dr. Bob Hill	Sept. 21, 2021
Gayle Hill-Suber	Sept. 21, 2021
Dr. Tyjaun Lee	Sept. 21, 2021
Lisa Pelofsky	Sept. 21, 2021
Anita Russell	Sept. 21,2021
Sharon Sanders Brooks	Sept. 21, 2021
Karen Slaughter	Sept. 21, 2021
Marquita Taylor	Sept. 21, 2021