J.C. Nichols’ historical legacy in Kansas City remains complicated. In 1906, Nichols embarked on his project to “beautify” the city, an endeavor that would continue for the subsequent four decades. His vision was simple: build a residential and commercial district in the heart of Kansas City that would the emphasize upscale living, natural beauty, and legitimize the town as a true urban center of the future. His motto for the project was to “plan for permanence” and build communities that would be inclined to stay and flourish.

Unfortunately, this idea wasn’t applicable to everyone in Kansas City. During the course of his forty-year Country Club District development project, Nichols openly discriminated against Black and Jewish residents in the area, directly and indirectly causing generations of economic displacement. Nichols, along with his contemporary developers, systematically introduced measures to ensure that these marginalized groups would not receive ownership of homes in his planned sites. These conditions of home sale, known as restrictive covenants, included bylines that prohibited the new owners from selling to African-American or Jewish buyers. These covenants ensured long-term racial disparities within the Country Club District. The racist terms of sale were tucked into other covenants for aesthetic maintenance of the neighborhoods, such as covenants requiring the new owners to keep their grass at a certain length or ensure clean sidewalks. Regardless, the restrictive covenants caused permanent inequity for the area’s Black and Jewish residents.

As the decades continued, Nichols expanded his initiatives beyond the confines of the planned district. His contributions were instrumental in the building of iconic Kansas City landmarks including the Liberty Memorial in 1926, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in 1933, and the formation and development of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Nichols became known as the most prominent real estate developer and philanthropist in the area for the first half of the 20th century. Indeed, these projects proved massive upgrades in the push toward modernity in Kansas City, but the divisions that Nichols caused still remained. Blacks living east of the Country Club District were forced to stay there following a series of ordinances passed by the city council in 1923. As a result of the influx of African-American residents populating the east side of Troost Avenue, upper-class White owners were panicked out of their residences, with many settling into Nichols’ booming district. This, coupled with the restrictive covenants, insured that the demographics would stay static in the heart of the city for the following century.

In 1943, the Supreme Court Case Shelley v. Kraemer officially rendered these covenants unenforceable. They remained, however, within the bylines of the neighborhood associations because of various linguistic tricks and because of the impracticality of reversal. As such, the neighborhoods remained demographically split east and west of Troost. Following the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the public schools in the area underwent desegregation in name only. Kansas City drew school district lines precisely along Troost, which instituted de facto segregation for the next several decades.

Nichols’ legacy of ceaseless urbanization and development led to some devastating socio-economical consequences for many families of Kansas City, but his career was also pivotal in constructing the town we know today. His work has caused a mixture of great sorrow and great beauty, and the indirect effects of his intentions are still being measured.

Oddly enough, MRW! founder Carl Stafford finds inspiration in the J.C. Nichols story. Growing up on the west side of the historically segregated District 5, Carl is well aware of the hurt and seclusion that  Nichols and his contemporaries caused to the community. But Carl also recognizes the ambition in Nichols had, and he strives to channel that same energy, that same meditated initiative, to be a force for good in Kansas City. Like Nichols, Carl plans for permanence, but unlike Nichols, Carl plans for permanent good and sustainability for the neighborhood communities. Rather than forcing panic and movements, Carl believes that the neighborhoods can be empowered for who they are and where they are. Revitalizing District 5, and the rest of Kanas City, will take tenacious work and dedication, and MRW! is ready to face it.