Cascade Media Group is delighted to provide coverage for the 2024 Women’s History Month brunch. This event, orchestrated by the Heart of America Neighborhood Association, serves not only as a celebration but also as a meaningful assembly to pay tribute to the enduring legacy of Senator Yvonne Stark Wilson. Furthermore, it advocates for the park that has been dedicated in her honor. The gathering took place at the esteemed Bruce Watkins Cultural Heritage Center.
Yvonne Delores Starks Wilson (March 22, 1929 – October 14, 2019) was a Democratic politician from Missouri. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She had a long and distinguished career in education and politics.
Wilson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lincoln University in elementary education in 1950 and a Master of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1971. She received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Lincoln University in 1991.
She served in the Kansas City, Missouri School District for 35 years as a teacher, principal of the William Rockhill Nelson Elementary School, and Director of Elementary Education1. Wilson retired from the school district in 1985.
Wilson also served on multiple non-profit boards in Kansas City such as the City of Fountains Foundation and the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center and Museum Foundation1. Wilson was the first Black woman to serve as the President of the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals.
In 2001, Wilson co-authored the report “Closing the Achievement Gap: Improving Educational Outcomes for African-American Children” as a member of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.
Wilson was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in a special election in 1999. She served in that body through 2002. In 2004, she was first elected to the Missouri State Senate and continued to serve until 2010.
In 2018, the Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation renamed Liberty Park at E. 34th Terr. and Stadium Dr. in honor of Ms. Wilson1. In 2019, Senator Wilson authored the book, “Living off Grandma’s Sayings: From Leeds to the Legislature”
