KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas announced Thursday night Kevin Strickland will flip the switch Friday at the mayor’s Christmas tree lighting.
We are honored to have Kevin Strickland turn on the lights for the Mayor’s Christmas Tree tomorrow at 530 at Crown Center. God bless him. Please join us to show our love for him.
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) November 26, 2021
After Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu pulled out of flipping the switch, it was announced that rhythm and blues singer Raheem DeVaughn would step in.
Soon after, many took to Twitter to suggest Strickland, who was released from prison Tuesday after 43 years for a crime he didn’t commit.
"Or Kevin Strickland? We’d be lucky and honored to have him," Lucas tweeted.
The Christmas tree lighting rounds out a week of holiday festivities for Strickland.
Thursday was his first Thanksgiving with loved ones in over four decades.
“It means a lot to me — it's something we can do as a family, it's something he hasn’t been able to experience in 43 years,” Roland Strickland said on his brother’s first Thanksgiving at home since being released.
The mayor’s Christmas tree lighting is at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Crown Center.
