The Rockford Summit on Racism was hosted by Eliminate Racism 815 on Thursday, May 4th, 2023 at the UW Health Sports Factory. Over 400 people attended this gathering of interested community organizations, businesses, and concerned individuals. Included in the several panelists opening the event was the Rockford Regional Health Council’s Executive Director, Becky Kendall. These panelists were asked to speak on their efforts in combatting racism in the areas of healthcare, community, and education. Becky’s representation of the Health Council was remarked on in multiple local news outlets, as seen in the excerpts below.

“Becky Kendall, executive director of the Rockford Regional Health Council, said, “We are really addressing the social determinant of health that impacts the quality of health of our community, where you live, your environment, the nutrition.”

“The Changing Hearts Initiative set by the Rockford Regional Health Council works on building trust in the community when it comes to healthcare, especially for minorities.”

Later in the summit, we engaged in conversations and dialogue about how to promote community unity, cooperation, collaboration, and mutual support in our common efforts to eliminate racism and create inclusion, equity, and justice in the Rockford area. Through these breakout sessions, attendees identified Priority Issues/Solutions in each pathway (Criminal Justice, Economic Opportunities, Education, Health and Relationship Building) and we highly encourage any readers to go to Eliminate Racism 815’s website to see the information gathered from these discussions.