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Community members, faith leaders and local organizers gathered Saturday for the fourth annual KC Racial Justice Summit, an event focused on confronting racial inequity and building stronger communities through collective action.
WATCH | KC Racial Justice Summit brings community together to turn advocacy into action
Hosted by Intersect KC and led by The KC Disciples’ Becoming Beloved Community Team, the summit brought together neighbors and advocates to share resources, discuss pressing social issues and find ways to create lasting change.
Organizers say the goal is to help people turn their shared values into action while building relationships and momentum around racial justice.
“No one’s getting left behind. No one’s getting left behind,” said Rev. Mindy Fugarino, executive director of Intersect KC.
Fugarino said community members have the power to influence policies and leadership, particularly when those decisions affect the most vulnerable.
“To see that yes we can actually change policies and change leaders when they are actually undermining the most vulnerable people in our community,” Fugarino said.
She pointed to voting as one way people can make their voices heard, but emphasized that creating change requires continued involvement beyond Election Day.
That message was echoed by Rev. Tamara Chestnut, a community minister, who said there is still work to be done.
“The work is just begun. There’s much work for us to do and everyone has an opportunity to impact the lives of someone else,” Chestnut said.
The summit featured keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Hanna Broome, along with eight local racial justice leaders who led workshops. Resource tables also gave attendees opportunities to connect with organizations and learn about ways to get involved.
Discussions focused on a range of issues affecting communities locally and nationally, including homelessness, immigration, racial equity and the war in Gaza.
For Sagi Rudnick, an attendee affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace, speaking out on international issues is also part of the broader fight for justice.
“Especially as someone who is Jewish and someone who has Israeli citizenship. I think it’s really important to use my privilege to call out what I do believe and what a lot of international experts believe is a genocide,” Rudnick said.
Organizers say bringing people together is an important step toward building the relationships and collective power needed to address these challenges.
As attendees reflected on the recent election, Rudnick said the results showed that change is possible when people take action.
“As we saw this last election day I think we can change conditions,” Rudnick said.
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