Quinton Lucas

Quinton Donald Lucas (born August 19, 1984) is an American politician serving as the 55th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. He was elected in 2019. He is affiliated with the Democratic party and is the city's third African-American mayor. Before his election, he was a law school professor, community leader, and city council member. Early life and education Lucas was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Quincy Bennett Johnson, a single mother. He never met his father. He earned a scholarship to the Barstow School, a private school characterized by more comfortable socioeconomic circumstances than those prevailing in Kansas City's low-income East Side. Johnson said, "He saw we were struggling ... One time we lived in a hotel, and it was horrible. Quinton would go in the bathroom to study." He was elected student body president twice and was one of the class's top students. According to Lucas, he experienced a conflict of identity due to the disparity between his social background and his ambitions. He was reluctant about leaving Kansas City upon graduation. Encouraged by his college counselor, he attended Washington University in St. Louis. He majored in political science, and studied in South Africa. Living in Cape Town, he observed the political and cultural legacy of apartheid. This experience strongly influenced his perception of the inequalities experienced by Black people in the United States.