PRESS RELEASE: Kander Opens 98th General Assembly, Calls on Legislators to Work to Make a Difference

For immediate release:                  January 7, 2015

Contact:                                                         Stephanie Fleming, (573) 526-0949

Kander Opens 98th General Assembly, Calls on Legislators to Work to Make a Difference

Jefferson City, Mo. — Secretary of State Jason Kander opened Missouri’s 98th General Assembly today by highlighting the legislative career of Representative Walthall Moore (R-St. Louis), who in 1921 became the first African-American to serve in Missouri’s General Assembly. It was Representative Moore, as a freshman legislator, who wrote and successfully carried the legislation that enabled Lincoln University to become the Midwest’s preeminent institution of higher education for black students in the mid-20th century.

“If one freshman representative could not only break this body’s antiquated racial barriers, but sponsor legislation to transform higher education for African-Americans in Missouri,” Kander said, “just imagine what each of us here can do during this 98th General Assembly.”

Kander urged legislators to work to make Missouri a better place, and reminded them that Missourians’ best interest should be placed above party politics and gamesmanship. Full text of Kander’s remarks can be found here.

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