Author

Mark McCormick

Mark McCormick

Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and deputy executive director at the ACLU of Kansas.

OPINION
Fast Food Workers Demonstrate Nationwide For Better Pay

Kansas legislators want a pay increase. Those working minimum-wage jobs deserve one too.

By: - March 19, 2023

Kansas legislators have figured out a way to boost their pay — through an independent body that would explore per diem and retirement benefits. Reportedly, the nine-member, independent body would shield lawmakers from the appearance that they’re feathering their own nests, which do need some feathers. Legislative pay has stalled at $88.66 per day and […]

OPINION
Ed Sykes (right), 77, visits the National Memorial For Peace And Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

Black History Month means empowerment. That provokes attacks on education in Kansas and U.S.

By: - February 26, 2023

As Black History Month ends, consider what’s happening in legislatures nationally, including here in Kansas, to limit how it’s being taught. Black history can liberate and inspire and empower, and that’s why politicians from Tallahassee to Topeka continue to attack it. The New York Times has reported that a new version of the AP African-American […]

OPINION
Basketball on the floor of a indoor court.

All-white panel refused Black Kansas student’s transfer. Why do Black bodies face so many limits?

By: - February 5, 2023

If this story consisted only of the Kansas State High School Athletic Association’s denial of Zion Young’s transfer request from Campus High School following a documented and undisputed racist incident, it would still document a sizeable concern. If this story told only about the anxiety and depression Zion experienced after that incident, that too would […]

OPINION
Mark McCormick

On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no one should settle for ‘a piece of freedom’

By: - January 15, 2023

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and deputy executive director at […]

OPINION

Documentary explores how 1965 Wichita plane crash left families (like mine) locked in a moment

By: - January 10, 2023

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and deputy executive director at […]

OPINION
Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" was among more than two dozen books removed last month from a school library at Goddard following a challenge by a parent. The books have since been returned to the shelves. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)

Black student athletes face abuse during games. What all of us read can make a difference.

By: - December 15, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and deputy executive director at […]

OPINION
A thanksgiving table with empty chairs

Reflection, celebration and fond memories should mark Thanksgiving season in Kansas

By: - November 27, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum and a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission. My recent call to […]

OPINION
A prisoner behind bars with hands cuffed

Demand for ‘extreme safety’ presents its own dangers as Kansas elections approach

By: - October 16, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum and a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission. Political pundits say some […]

OPINION
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, right, embraced Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes at an Aug. 2 primary election watch party in Overland Park. Davids won reelection to a third term Tuesday by defeating Republican Amanda Adkins. (Lily O'Shea Becker for the Kansas Reflector)

The fight against women’s erasure continues after Aug. 2 abortion vote

By: - September 11, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum and a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission. The busloads of men […]

OPINION
Rep. Gail Finney, a Wichita Democrat, calls for improved accounting of maternal deaths during a news conference on Jan. 13, 2021, at the Statehouse in Topeka. Democrats announced Finney's death on Saturday. She was 63. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Rep. Gail Finney fought for you. Now, it’s time to fight for her.

By: - September 1, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum and a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission. If you knew Wichita […]

OPINION
The U.S. Supreme Court is shown June 21, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

This ‘father of affirmative action’ was a Kansan who lived in Junction City and Topeka

By: - August 21, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum and a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission. The Supreme Court will […]

OPINION
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mass.) depart July 12, 2022, after the seventh hearing held by the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol (Pool photo by Shawn Thew/Getty Images)

Troubling questions abound for Kansas police in wake of Jan. 6 Commission hearings

By: - July 17, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum and a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission. A chief of police […]