"WHO IS YOUR WHITE MAN?"

“WHO IS YOUR WHITE MAN?” By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman Sunday, May 14, 2017 “Who is your white man?” I was asked in the 1990s in a black social gathering consisting of alleged movers and shakers in Kansas City, Missouri. I was stunned by the question! Especially was I shocked, as this inquiry had come from a man who was then-the most prominent, black, real estate developer to have come along in decades to Kansas City. “Was I supposed to have had a ‘white man,’ mentor, master, overlord, just to practice law,” I replied? Looking around the tight room, I noted the presence of politicians, construction contractors, small business owners, government officials, and others. They seemed to be listening to our conversation. I had heard that certain white men had exercised disproportionate control over huge swaths of black Kansas City. But, by virtue of being an outsider—from Washington, D.C. and St. Louis—I was never “in.” Maybe that persistent rumor was true. My interrogator said nothing. He simply looked at me quizzically. So, I turned the question around and brazenly asked him, “Who is your white man?” He smiled slightly, winked, and walked away. Strange. #30