Save the Nick Chiles Legacy

Topeka City Council, Aim Strategies

Nick Chiles

AIM Strategies, a private equity firm located in Topeka, has plans to demolish the historic structures listed on the National Historic Registry located at 112,114, and 116 SE 7th owned by Nicholas Chiles. The Local Landmarks Commission will deny the request for the demolition and AIM Strategies will be granted the right to appeal to the City Council to get approval for the demolition. We are asking for your support by signing this petition to stop the demolition and rehabilitate the structures.

Our city officials must not only be concerned with profits but also the history and heritage of the community. The signatures gathered will be presented to the City Council at a future meeting as proof

are urging the Topeka City Council and Aim Strategies to restore the glory of the historic buildings and give Nick Chiles the recognition he deserves and the legacy for our Black community to take pride in.

Downtown Topeka was once the location of thriving Black business. Through "urban revitalization"  many of the former landmark buildings were leveled and replaced. As the years have gone by, much of downtown, and Topeka in general, highlights the contributions of many white people with statues and plaques in front of buildings, but have ignored the Black entrepreneurs that built up the progress of our town.

Nick Chiles was a brilliant businessman, an editor, entrepreneur, hell-raiser, and civil rights activist who moved to Topeka in 1886. There he OWNED a grocery, restaurant, and hotel businesses. Joseph Bass and Will Pope sold him a newspaper they had founded, the Topeka Call. He renamed the newspaper and in January 1899 published the first issue of the Topeka Plaindealer. He served as editor and publisher for the rest of his life. Chiles developed a reputation for his timely and thought-provoking editorials on subjects of concern to African Americans in Topeka, around Kansas, and beyond the state's borders. A savvy businessman, Chiles grew the Plaindealer to be the most successful Black newspaper in Kansas. It was among the strongest Black newspapers in the nation, and the longest running.


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To: Topeka City Council, Aim Strategies
From: [Your Name]

I am writing to urge you today to stop the proposed demolition of the buildings Nick Chiles owned and operated successful businesses out of. When we think of downtown and the hope of making it feel inclusive and flourishing, we must highlight and honor Black entrepreneurs that contributed to the development of our city. Currently, plans to destroy the historic buildings is not only hurtful, but negligent. There is a responsibility to uphold the dignity of not only the historically registered structures themselves, but to the story inside of them.
It is in the best interest of the city to keep the existing buildings, restore them to the original glory, and then invite historians, descendants, and the Black community to engage in preserving the history and making it a place that truly honors Nick Chiles and provide a legacy to honor from the Black community.