Making Room for Black Sapphics: Inside Kansas City’s Sapphic Con
Born from organizer Tiffany Watts’ own search for community, the three-day festival centers connection, creativity, accessibility and Black Sapphic visibility.
Mili's Latest Articles
‘All They Got to Do is Stop Talking Honky’: How Argentina’s Racist Display at the World Cup Mirrors the MAGA Backlash in the US
A month after the World Cup ended, the spectacle is gone. The racial and political tensions it exposed are not, as Argentina’s President Javier Milei, much like Trump, stokes racial tensions to cover for a sick economy and its savage inequalities.
Five Years of Movement: The Defender Is Still Becoming
Born from the 2020 uprisings, The Kansas City Defender has spent five years transforming what Black journalism, community care and political education can look like in Kansas City.
Contrary to the Media’s Narrative, the World Cup Lifts Some Boats in Host Countries, But Sinks Many Others
Black South Africans, Among Others, Say That They Were Left Holding the Bag After Hosting the Quadrennial Soccer Tournament in 2010.
What We Know About Kayla Huff, the Black Missouri Teen Found Dead After Going Missing
Kayla Huff’s family and community searched for her for days when she went missing at the beginning of May. Her body was tragically found in central Missouri a week later. Now, five adults and a 17-year-old face accusations connected to her disappearance and death.
Public Risk, Private Wealth, and the Royals’ Crown Center Deal
How 11 council members advanced the framework to commit $600 million in taxpayer money as collateral for a billionaire's stadium.
The 1% earnings tax helps keep Kansas City running and policing in place
The measure would preserve one of the city’s biggest revenue streams and a budget model where public safety still overwhelmingly means police.
Before the System Believes You
For Black women and girls in Kansas City, the struggle to be found often begins with having to be believed.
Journalism for Us, by Us: The Defender’s Call to Kansas City’s Black Community
The Kansas City Defender is inviting readers to participate in our 2026 Reader Survey, helping shape our reporting and community programming for the year ahead. Senior Editor Mili Mansaray shares why community feedback matters to the future of our work.
New KC Podcast: Crisis of Missing Black Women, a White Supremacist Serial Killer, and What Comes Next
Less than a month after KCPD dismissed Black community warnings, a 22-year-old escaped a serial killer's basement torture dungeon. The Fountain City Files x Defender's new podcast follows that break in the case, the epidemic of missing Black women, and how our communities are fighting for justice.
