This past week Empower Missouri held its Annual Week of Action. In addition to 3 virtual days, this year we were able to be back in the Capitol for the first time in over 2 years! It was so good to be back.  On each of our virtual days attendees were able to learn about...Read More

This session, five bills have been filed pertaining to funding for the Kansas City Police Department.  For those who are not familiar with the issue, here’s a quick primer.  The Situation in KC Kansas City is the only municipality in Missouri that doesn’t currently have control of its own police department.  Under Missouri statute, the...Read More

Since 1901, the pinnacle of Empower Missouri’s work each year has been its Annual Conference. In fact, for the first decade, that was the bulk of Empower Missouri’s (then called the Missouri State Conference on Charities & Corrections) work. Once a year, advocates gathered together to discuss the state of affairs in Missouri and make...Read More

In June 2021, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office released data from its annual Vehicle Stops Report, which showed in 2020 black drivers were about 71% more likely to be stopped by police than white drivers in Missouri. The Attorney’s General Office has been collecting data on vehicle stops since 2000. Over the past several years,...Read More

In early August, Saint Louis hosted the Racial Equity Summit. This year’s event was conducted via a virtual format and highlighted major inequities throughout our society, but it also offered timely discussions as to how we could all move forward. The summit included speakers such as Edgar Villanueva, Angela Davis, and Adrienne Maree Brown. In...Read More

Last week, the beleaguered Editorial Board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an opinion piece in reaction to a news story that 200 detainees facing federal charges have been bussed to out-of-state jails following the closure of the St. Louis Medium Security Institution, colloquially known as The Workhouse. The Editorial Board posits that these “inmates”...Read More

Last week, on behalf of Empower Missouri, I attended the 2021 SEARCH Symposium. It is a national forum that addresses critical and timely issues, programs, research and policies confronting decision-makers and justice information management professionals. Due to the ongoing global pandemic, this year’s session was a hybrid model, which held courses in person and on...Read More

I often describe myself as a grassroots organizer at my core. I really believe that there is no ethical way to advocate for legislative changes other than through the power of the people. For Empower Missouri, that means spending time with people in poverty and the nonprofits agencies they turn to for help. I can...Read More

Hi! My name is Chris Morrison. I have always had a desire to make an impact on the world around me. Throughout my career in the non-profit sector, I have had a goal to leave each person that I’ve worked with in a better state than before. I’m proud to say that in my entire...Read More

It’s the third week of May, which means that you’re hearing crickets from hundreds of lobbyists and advocates across the state who are taking a much deserved break after working many late nights over the last three weeks as the Missouri legislature hurtled towards its inevitable close at 6PM last Friday night. Due to widening...Read More