In early May, internationally acclaimed percussionist Josh Jones sat unemployed and holding back tears inside the Kansas City home he had purchased to be closer to his mother. Only weeks before, he had felt like a very different Josh Jones: Principal percussionist of the Kansas City Symphony, and almost, the first Black man to receive tenure in the institution’s 40-year history. But that did not happen. Now, the 31-year-old has been denied tenure, leaving him with no job and no health care with less than a year left in his cancer treatment. He says the symphony held him, the only Black musician brought in for a long-term position, to a higher standard than his white counterparts. Jones said he felt isolated and, at times, treated inappropriately by staff due to his race. In an initial, Nov. 11, 2021, letter assessing Jones’ performance on the tenure track, the symphony’s music director repeatedly referred to him as “an exceptional talent” and “an extraordinary citizen in the orche...