Nearly 100 years after J.C. (Jesse Clyde) Nichols built Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza — an outdoor shopping center modeled after Spanish architecture — his name has been stripped from one of its streets and an iconic fountain.
The debate to remove his name has long simmered, but the pressure mounted as protests over systemic racism continued after George Floyd was killed in May by Minnesota police officers. Nichols, a prominent real estate developer, promoted restrictive zoning that prohibited Blacks, Jews and other minorities from living in certain neighborhoods. For many, the segregation that persists in the city today is a reminder of his zoning policies.
At the end of June, the Parks and Recreation Board of Commissioners voted to remove the name JC Nichols after two public comment sessions on the issue.
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