Urban Summit Kansas City

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Urban Summit Kansas City

Urban Advocacy, Civic Engagement, and Grassroots Organizing

08/19/2026

WHAT DOES DEMOCRACY HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR HEALTH? More than you think.

📅 Friday, August 21, 2026 | 8:30–10:00 a.m.
📍 Morning Star Community Center, 2525 E. 27th Street, Kansas City, MO
💻 Or join us live via Zoom

Health doesn't start in a doctor's office. It starts with safe neighborhoods. Good jobs. Affordable housing. Healthy food. Quality education. Reliable transportation. Economic opportunity. And yes — a healthy democracy.

Who gets to make decisions? Who has access to opportunity? Who is heard, and who is left behind? These aren't just political questions — they're public health questions. For years, the Urban Summit has said health is more than the absence of disease. Poverty, systemic racism, neighborhood disinvestment, inequitable policy, and barriers to civic participation are among the greatest threats to our community's health. This Friday, we explore why.

We're honored to welcome Qiana Thomason, President & CEO of Health Forward Foundation, and McClain Bryant Macklin, Chief Policy & Impact Officer, for a real conversation on advancing health equity through racial equity, economic opportunity, and systems change.

We'll dig into:
✔️ Why your ZIP code predicts your health better than your genetic code
✔️ How racial equity and economic opportunity improve health outcomes
✔️ Why civic engagement is essential to healthier communities
✔️ How Health Forward invests in advocacy and systems change region-wide
✔️ What YOU can do to create lasting change

As attacks on voting rights, public health, and economic opportunity continue nationwide, this conversation couldn't be timelier.

Everything is connected. Healthy communities need healthy systems. Healthy systems need engaged citizens. Engaged citizens need truth and courageous leadership.

Show up. Speak up. Let's build power — together.

See you Friday at the Urban Summit! 💙

08/18/2026

The people showed up — and so did the candidates! This past Friday, the Urban Summit brought Jackson County Executive and Legislature candidates to Morning Star Community Center for an honest conversation about restoring public trust after years of turmoil. No scripted talking points — just direct questions on accountability, transparency, and the decisions that will shape Jackson County for years to come.

08/12/2026

Can Jackson County Restore Public Trust?
Meet the Candidates Who Want to Lead Our County Forward

Friday, August 14, 2026 | 8:30–10:00 a.m.
Morning Star Community Center, 2525 E. 27th St, KCMO
Or join us live via Zoom (urbansummitkcmo.com)

Jackson County is at a crossroads. A property tax crisis, political infighting, a county executive recall, and ongoing questions about leadership have left residents asking: Who is leading Jackson County—and where are they leading us?

Public trust is earned through competence, transparency, and results—not campaign rhetoric. This Friday, the Urban Summit brings together candidates for Jackson County Executive and Legislature for an honest conversation about how they intend to govern.

Featured Candidates:
County Executive: Stacy Lake (D), Alan Rohlfing (R)
1st District At-Large: Carla Fields (D) — Lance Pollard (R) invited, unable to attend
2nd District At-Large: Donna Peyton (D), Gresia Cabrera (R)
3rd District At-Large: Susan B. Wilson (D)

We'll ask what's on voters' minds: How will they restore trust? What have they learned from years of turmoil? How will they unite a divided government, ensure accountability, and deliver on public safety, mental health, housing, economic development, and property taxes? Most importantly—how will their leadership improve residents' lives?

The Legislature oversees a multi-million-dollar budget shaping the jail, parks, public health, COMBAT funding, and community support. The next Executive inherits real challenges that will shape our county for years to come.

Come hear the candidates. Ask the hard questions. Then decide who has earned your vote.

Democracy works when citizens are informed, engaged, and ready to hold leaders accountable.

See you Friday morning.

08/10/2026

Friday's Urban Summit brought the room together for a real conversation on financial self-sufficiency: how predatory loans, high-interest auto financing, and misunderstood insurance policies quietly steal people's futures.

Our speakers broke it down from the podium and laid out the warning signs before you sign. And the community didn't just listen — people took notes, asked questions, and showed up ready to protect their families' futures.

This is what it looks like when we build power together instead of waiting on someone else to do it for us.

To everyone who came out: thank you. Your voice matters, and Friday proved it.

We're not slowing down. More convenings, more knowledge, more power — from margin to center.

Stay tuned for our next meeting. Show up. Speak up.

08/05/2026

What if the biggest threat to your financial future isn't how much you earn — but what you sign?

Payday loans with triple-digit interest rates. Car loans that leave you owing more than the vehicle is worth. Insurance policies nobody took the time to explain. Too often, financial hardship starts with one signature.

The Urban Summit is back from recess, and we're diving straight in: Don't Let Debt Steal Your Future — Breaking the Cycle of Financial Traps Through Knowledge and Smart Decision-Making.

Friday, August 7 | 8:30–10:00 AM
Morning Star Community Center, 2525 E. 27th St, Kansas City, MO
Or join us on Zoom (urbansummitkcmo.com)

Hear from:
Rev. John Modest Miles, Senior Pastor, Morning Star Baptist Church
José Haywood — how predatory lending and auto financing trap families in debt, and how to spot the warning signs before you sign
Donald Hines — what insurance actually protects, and how to choose the right coverage for your family

Your voice matters. Your money matters. This is knowledge you can use TODAY.

Show up. Speak up. Let's build power!

See you Friday. Bring a neighbor.

07/17/2026

"84% of Black people don't own a single share of stock — yet we're told to 'invest in the kingdom' with no roadmap. Never go to a church where you can spot the pastor's car in the lot." Dr. Jamal Bryant truly dropped some gems on us!!!

07/15/2026

"$1.6 trillion in spending power and we don't own the grocery store, the gas station, or the barber shop on our own block." WAKE UP!!

07/13/2026

"70 years since the Montgomery Bus Boycott and we still don't have a national chain of our own." BMWs and Louis Vuitton aren't economic development! Thank you for the reminder Dr. Jamal Bryant! 🔥🔥🔥

07/08/2026

This is what Black women carry into every professional space, every single day. And this is what it looks like when they refuse to carry it silently.

We see you, Ms. Grant. We stand with you!

07/06/2026

This isn't opinions, this is data!

At the Urban Summit's 19th Annual Conference, Qiana Thomason — President & CEO of Health Forward Foundation — read the room the numbers nobody wants to talk about.
February – July 2025:

🔴 Black women LOST 319,000 jobs

🟢 White women GAINED 142,000 jobs

🟢 White men GAINED 365,000 jobs

Black women make up just 14% of the female workforce — but absorbed 54.7% of ALL female job losses in that period.

"These policy impacts are not happenstance. It's diabolical warfare against the American people and Black communities."
We say it plainly at the Urban Summit because somebody has to.

Address

Kansas City, MO

Website

https://urbansummitkcmo.com/

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