Voices of Kansas City

J.M. Banks

J.M. Banks is Co-Host of Voices of Kansas City on KKFI 90.1 FM. He grew up in Kansas City. and went to Paseo Academy Of Performing Arts and then Studied at University of Missouri – Kansas City. J.M. Banks is The Kansas City Star’s culture and identity reporter. He has worked in various community-based media outlets such as The Pitch KC and Urban Alchemy Podcast. He is former Advisory Board Member at KSHB 41. J.M. is the Creator and Host of J.M. Banks: The KC Renaissance now in its 6th year.

Mará Rose Williams

Mará Rose Williams is The Star’s Assistant Managing Editor for Race & Equity Issues. She previously was a member of the Star’s Editorial Board and an award-winning columnist. She has written on all things education for The Star since 1998, including issues of inequity in education, teen suicide, universal pre-K, college costs and racism on university campuses. She conceived of, and was a writer on, The Star’s award-winning 2020 “Truth in Black and White” project and the recipient of the 2021 Eleanor McClatchy Award for exemplary leadership skills and transformative journalism.