Sakinah Cooper, who in February 2019 was a stay-at-home, work-from-home mom, sat on the couch in her living room in Kansas City, Missouri, snuggling her newborn while a giant plastic sheet loomed behind her, which made her apartment feel like a strange quarantine zone. The sheet was hung by maintenance workers when Cooper complained of a ceiling-destroying leak that developed after a heavy snowmelt. The sheet hung for weeks; no other fix came. Cooper contacted the KC Tenants Hotline and was given resources to have her apartment inspected and her landlord held accountable. With rising rents and a lack of affordable housing options, tenants have begun to speak out and stand up to landlords.
KC Tenants, a coalition of tenants rights organizations from across Kansas City, addresses issues such as evictions, rent increases, and poor living conditions. In recent years, their efforts have won more accountability for landlords and more power for tenants, including the creation of a Tenants Bill of Rights and the establishment of a municipal Office of the Tenant Advocate.
February 12, 2021: Sakinah Cooper and her baby in front of a plastic sheet that blocks off their apartment’s dining room in Kansas City, Missouri. At top, Cooper snuggles with her baby in their living room.
December 12, 2019: KC Tenants members celebrate at Kansas City’s City Council Chambers (above) after the council passed legislation creating the Tenants Bill of Rights, which was written by KC Tenants.
Jenay Manley is removed from a courtroom after disrupting an eviction hearing at the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri. KC Tenants activists also flooded the virtual court hearings with calls to shut down the virtual eviction hearings.
April 30, 2020: Cancel Rent protesters in Jefferson City (above) march from the Missouri state capitol to the governor’s mansion to place an eviction notice on its front gates.
Right, Tiana Caldwell helps her son A.J. with his mask at the protest in front of the Missouri capitol in Jefferson City.