Kenosha Action Roadmap to Inclusion, Equality and Equity
In June 2020, Mayor John Antaramian convened a small group of area faith-based leaders he had been meeting with on a quarterly basis. Following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, he asked the group if they could help with creating a plan to address systemic racism in the city of Kenosha.
From the beginning, it was clear that the plan must be developed and owned by the community rather than local government. The City of Kenosha Administration would be instrumental in creating the concept and convening the leaders to begin the work on the Kenosha Action Roadmap (KAR) to Inclusion, Equality and Equity. But the KAR would be driven and maintained by teams comprised of a diverse group of individuals and led by community ambassadors.
The Roadmap is a framework, a call to action and the beginning to a plan to address racism in the city of Kenosha. Public input received from both the October 2020 listening sessions and online feedback were later incorporated into the document. The actual details of the plan will be developed over time by the leadership teams and the teams of volunteers in each focus area.
Originally named Kenosha’s Commit to Action Roadmap (KCTA), the name was changed to Kenosha Action Roadmap to Inclusion, Equality and Equity early in 2021 to more accurately reflect the community’s goals. The document will be updated periodically as teams in the various focus areas develop their ideas and reports.
The Roadmap will focus on addressing systemic racism in the following areas:
- Strengthening Community Police Relations
- Developing Future Leaders
- Creating an Equal Criminal Justice System
- Creating Equal Employment Opportunities
- Creating Quality Education for All
- Strengthening the Mental Health System
- Creating Equal Affordable housing Access
Recap – KAR Listening Session (November 2020)
Mayor John Antaramian and faith-based leaders hosted four (4) in-person listening sessions to gather input from area residents on both the recent civil unrest and on Kenosha’s Commit to Action Roadmap. As the City of Kenosha moves forward to unity and healing, the input and feedback provided by the citizens who participated in these opportunities will be a vital part in the development of the KCTA Roadmap.
A total of 275 citizens registered to attend a listening session through Eventbrite, and 207 of those registered attended and participated. Sessions were held for four consecutive Sundays in 2020: September 20th at Journey Church, September 27th at Second Baptist Church, October 4th at Kenosha Public Museum, and October 11th at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.
Recap – KAR Online Feedback Form – November 2020
In addition to the four in-person listening sessions hosted by Mayor John Antaramian and faith-based leaders, an online feedback form was created to give those residents who were unable to attend in-person sessions an opportunity to provide input about the recent civil unrest and Kenosha’s Commit to Action Roadmap. As the City of Kenosha moves forward to unity and healing, the input and feedback provided by the citizens who participated in these opportunities will be a vital part in the development of the KCTA Roadmap.
A total of 38 individuals submitted feedback using an online form starting on September 27, 2020, and ending on October 15, 2020.
Phase I 2021 Summary of Activities
The Kenosha Action Roadmap to Inclusion, Equality and Equity provides a great opportunity to bring together diverse individuals, organizations, businesses, faith-based communities and government to chart a better course for the residents of Kenosha. Long-term work must be done. There is no quick fix, but we can learn much from each other if we are willing to listen, to identify our challenges, to embrace our differences, and to work together to blend our individual strengths into a stronger and all-inclusive community.
This Summary of Activities summarizes the work done by Pastor Peeples and all the members of the Strengthening Community – Police Relations Team in 2021, the pilot group and first KAR team who set the stage for future work.
The Mayor believes that by working together and using data to understand whether policies are or are not working, our community and the police department can realize fair, safe, and effective policing that protects and serves all members of the public, including the officers themselves. Administration is reviewing all recommendations in the document and will address or make decisions as appropriate.
Phase II 2022 Summary of Activities
The Roadmap is a resource for Kenosha as we move forward toward sustainable change related to inclusion, equality, and equity and chart a better course for the residents of Kenosha.
Phase II summary of Activities provides an overview of the work of two (2) teams – Strengthening Community-Police Relations and Strengthening the Mental Health System. In this phase, the work of the Strengthening Community-Police Relations team continued where the team ended in Phase I, and the second focus area was launched – Strengthening the Mental Health System.
Both teams were comprised of diverse individuals and most of the members had subject matter expertise. This brought a more dynamic dialogue to the meetings. The teams met monthly in 2022 (January – June).
In Phase II, the goal of the Strengthening Community Police Relations (SCPR) Team was to follow up on several items that the Sub-Teams looked at in Phase I and continue to identify areas where the Kenosha Police Department (KPD) and the community are working together to improve credibility and establish an on-going dialog with residents.
The goal of the Strengthening the Mental Health System (SMHS) Team was to review the current mental health system in the community and provide recommendations to improve its awareness of resources to the community and the availability of requisite treatment. The team acknowledged that the responsibility for community mental/behavioral health falls under the purview of Kenosha County Human Services with respect to organization and budget.
The passion and commitment shared by all to building strong relationships between the citizens, organizations, and government became a continual source of inspiration and encouragement to the teams. The dedication of team members and their commitment to the process of arriving at a consensus around the recommendations is also worth acknowledging. The team members brought diverse perspectives to the table and were able to come together to engage in meaningful dialogue on emotionally charged issues in a respectful and effective manner. The type of constructive dialogue the teams engaged will model to be used going forward with other focus areas.
Mayor John Antaramian believes that while much work remains to address many longstanding issues and challenges - the Roadmap experience has demonstrated that fellow Kenoshans, are, by nature, problem solvers. It is his hope that the information included in this document will be a meaningful contribution to our city’s efforts to increase trust between citizens, the government, and the community that we are all responsible for.