Troost Avenue.

Troost Avenue, the well known red line of Kansas City. Troost Avenue, the historic wall between the haves and have nots. Troost Avenue, the street that many people still to this day dare not venture to and certainly not beyond. Troost Avenue, a street that is the subject of hundreds of articles, documentaries and constant magnification. These definitions in my mind don’t define what this stretch is today. These definitions don’t mention the miles long prayer chain which stretched down Troost Ave, these definitions don’t mention the hundreds of millions of dollars in development that have taken place and continue to roll out. These definitions do not represent Urban Café, Reconciliation Services, Equal Minded Café or Pink Lipps, they don’t represent the Gates family or Rockhurst University, and it most certainly doesn’t represent the literal bridge that Operation Breakthrough has built over many decades serving those very have nots I mentioned. 

In my opinion, the very name of this street itself; TROOST avenue, doesn’t represent the current state of this avenue or the trajectory of our beloved city. Dr. Benoist Troost, the first resident physician of KCMO was a man who enslaved 6 people. Dr. Benoist Troost was a man that if given the opportunity would have owned the very ancestors of many of the great local establishments that I’ve mentioned in the prior paragraph. 

As a stakeholder who has weathered break ins, served this community tirelessly and is the proud owner of the first ever healthy establishment to ever exist in this entire portion of Kansas City, MO (THE EAST SIDE), I appeal passionately to you all to help our city turn the page on this more than a century old chapter. Dr. Benoist Troost shouldn’t be celebrated in any capacity and he certainly shouldn’t be celebrated on one of the most well-known avenues our city has ever housed. 

It is time for our city to move boldy towards TRUTH. With this official petition and subsequent memorandum I request that the name of Troost Avenue be renamed TRUTH avenue. I believe that it is time for us to truly embrace our heinous past and tell the truth about its history across all corners beginning here and now. With the renaming of Troost to TRUTH we will collectively usher in a new day, we will collectively start a sweeping change to never again allow a single slave owner or like- minded individual to be celebrated again. TRUTH is universal, truth cuts through all barriers.  Please stand with me, with us in TRUTH.

When this prevails we move that much closer to being a city that represents us all, we move that much closer to reconciling the wrongs of yesterday.  Opposition to such a movement is opposition that has the desire to perpetuate racism and imbalance.

-Chris Goode