Kansas Rep. Marvin Robinson II, who fought to preserve Quindaro Ruins, dies
Rep. Marvin Robinson II, a Democrat representing northeast Kansas City, Kansas, and pictured right, died unexpectedly, his sister announced Friday on Facebook. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Kansas City, Kansas, Rep. Marvin Robinson II died unexpectedly, his sister announced Friday. He was 67.
DeLisa Fowler, Robinson’s sister, announced his death in a Facebook post in the early hours of the morning Friday. The post did not disclose how Robinson died.
“May his memory inspire us to live with love and purpose,” she wrote.
Robinson, a Navy veteran, was remembered Friday as a dedicated legislator and activist.
He was elected to the Kansas House in 2022, serving one term and losing a reelection bid in the Aug. 6 primary to educator Wanda Brownlee Paige. Despite being a Democrat, Robinson often sided with Republicans during his tenure.
The Wyandotte County representative sponsored criminal justice bills in the 2024 session, including one that proposed abolishing the death penalty and another that would commute the sentences of people convicted of marijuana-related offenses. During the 2023 session, Robinson secured funding from GOP leadership for the Quindaro Ruins, a historically significant stop on the Underground Railroad located in his district. The funding was shrouded in politically charged controversy, but it was a cumulation of Robinson’s activism.
“These people sacrificed everything they had,” Robinson told Kansas Reflector in 2020.
Quindaro is a physical representation of those who escaped slavery in addition to those that helped them, which included members of the women’s suffrage movement, New England Immigrant Aid Company members and Wyandot Indians, the Reflector reported.
“There’s so much to learn from lessons of the past,” Robinson said. “We don’t have to go reinvent the wheel. We need to go forward like never before. Everybody needs to roll up their sleeves.”
Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Mayor Tyrone Garner wrote in a Facebook post Friday: “Representative Robinson will be remembered by many for his strong support for the preservation and national recognition of the Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City Kansas.”
Garner said Robinson’s “community activism and commitment” to northeast Kansas City, Kansas, will continue to hold value.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed funding for the ruins in May 2023. A month before, Robinson broke party lines and was the deciding vote to overturn Kelly’s veto of a transgender athlete ban for K-12 schools and colleges, which made the ban law. Lawmakers speculated at the time that Kelly’s rejection of the Quindaro Ruins funding was punishment, but Kelly maintained it was because the funding was a last-minute addition and hadn’t gone through proper channels. She later allocated $1 million to the ruins with state Department of Commerce funds.
Kelly ordered flags on state property be lowered to half-staff until sundown on the day of Robinson’s burial.
“Representative Robinson showed a commitment to public service throughout his time in the Navy and the Kansas Legislature,” Kelly said in a statement.
Kansas Family Voice, an anti-abortion group that supported Robinson’s recent primary bid, posted a statement on X Friday expressing shock and sadness. House Speaker Dan Hawkins reposted the statement.
“With heavy hearts, we pause to remember State Representative Marvin Robinson,” the statement read. “We will always remember his kindness and courage in adversity. He was bold and unashamed to stand up for his faith.”
