The city’s former mayor Emanuel Cleaver, during whose administration the museum was opened, says that the financially troubled museum – in a building owned by the city, with artifacts owned by the city, and with a third of its budget coming from the city – needs the entire city to view it as a point of pride. City Councilor Quentin Lucas: “When you look at the successful museums in Kansas City, those that have broader buy-in from a larger community are the ones that are successful.” But how to make that happen?