Kiona Sinks at Central and NLBM: A Foundation for the Future, Rooted in the Past BY EMILY KESEL
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f you spent enough time traveling around in Kansas City, Mo. in the past year, you may have come across a unique version of the city’s RideKC Streetcar. Decked out in the red, white, and blue of the Kansas City Monarchs, it was a tribute to the legendary ballplayer Buck O’Neil and had been traversing the city since last November in honor of O’Neil’s 109th birthday and the centennial anniversary of the Negro Leagues. It was the first big project while working for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for Central Methodist University alumna Kiona Sinks, ’18, and it’s the one she still calls her most memorable a year later. In just a year with the NLBM, the 2021 CMU Young Alumni Award winner has already made a mark on the institution, much like she did at Central. Starting her job as the community engagement and digital strategy manager on the same day as the museum’s 30th anniversary – and in the middle of a pandemic – meant she had to “jump in with both feet,” but Sinks wouldn’t have it any other way. Sinks says that all her days on the job are different, whether she’s sitting at her desk managing social media accounts or accompanying museum president Bob Kendrick to a Royals game. But no matter where she is, her underlying focus is the same as it’s been since her days at Central – building a more inclusive future for the next generation, while keeping history in mind. She’s no stranger to the hard work it takes to build foundations that will benefit those that come after her more than they did for her. At CMU, Sinks was the driving force in creating the African American Student Union, even though she hadn’t come to school with any ideas of doing such a thing. “A mentor at the time pushed me and said, ‘Kiona, what are you going to do to leave your legacy at Central Methodist and do more than
36 The Talon | Fall 2021
Kiona Sinks, '18, had the honor of sitting in the Buck O’Neal Legacy Seat at the Kansas City Royals’ Kauffman Stadium in August. As the new community engagement manager at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Sinks has been instrumental in a big year at the historic institution. just walk away with a four-year degree?’ And I’ll be honest, at first I didn’t want to have anything to do with that,” she said. As the first in her family to attend college, Sinks was just focused on getting through school and participating in track, but as national conversations began to center on police brutality and race after an incident just over two hours away from Fayette, her perspective changed. The killing of Michael Brown, Sinks said, made her “pause” and
look around at aspects of her life, including how underrepresented black women like her were in leadership roles. After many hours of research and hard work, and the support of CMU President Roger Drake and other staff, the African American Student Union became a reality in the spring of 2017. With it came a place for open discussion and a renewed focus on diversity and inclusion. “We wanted students to understand [our perspectives], but we couldn’t force it because
