KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The city of Kansas City, Missouri, is facing a civil rights investigation from the Department of Justice over allegations some of its practices don’t comply with federal law.
The DOJ is specifically looking into whether KCMO’s public contracting and procurement practices are in line with the U.S. Constitution and Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Public records show Kansas City sets aside a certain percentage of public contract funds “to favor certain people because of their race and sex and disfavor others,” the DOJ wrote in a news release.
The investigation from the department’s Civil Rights Division will determine if such practices are a Title VI violation.
Title VI prohibits race discrimination by entities that receive federal funds, according to the DOJ, and Kansas City’s eligibility for those funds could depend on the outcome of the case.
“No person anywhere in the United States should be subjected to unlawful discrimination on the ground of race, color or national origin, and the Civil Rights Act makes Kansas City, Missouri’s receipt of federal funding contingent on keeping that commitment,” said Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general for civil rights. “All government in this free country must treat all persons with equal dignity and respect and without dividing people into racial and ethnic blocs for the purpose of labelling certain people winners and others losers because of their race.”
The DOJ’s release referenced a 1989 case in which the Supreme Court found the city of Richmond, Virginia, in violation of the Constitution for its 30% minority set-aside.
KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas said it’s uncertain how long the investigation will continue, given the approaching change in presidential administration.
In a statement, Lucas said he believes the department is attempting to investigate “so-called ‘reverse race discrimination'" and said there have been many similar cases over the last several years under President Trump’s administration.
“Let us be clear: these are unfair claims of non-allegiance by an administration in its final hours to diminish extensive and well-researched disparity and equity studies conducted by the City,” Lucas said in the statement.
Lucas said based on those studies, “the City will continue to implement a remedial program to remedy the historic and ongoing impact of discrimination against small businesses owned by minorities and women seeking to participate in the City’s procurement and contracting processes.”
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