Courageous Conversations
Join us the 4th Monday of month for a conversation. Courageous Conversations explores issues of race in Rock County. Topics are selected each month based on current events and the issues people of color are currently facing both locally and nationwide.
The conversations are moderated by members of YWCA Rock County’s racial justice team as well as members of the Diversity Action Team of Rock County.
Courageous Conversations are currently being held virtually via Zoom. Courageous Conversations is held the fourth Monday of each month from 5:30pm – 7 pm. The event is free to attend, but registration is required.
(Please note, Courageous Conversations will be recorded and placed online. Members of the media are also invited to attend. If members of the media are present, an announcement will be made at the beginning of the meeting.)
The Underground Railroad & the Klan Next Door
Monday, February 23, 2026
6 pm to 7 pm; parking lot 7 pm – 7:30 pm
Registration Link - https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zXNdaVFTTNGjR55hqPvMXA
Rock County has a rich racial history engulfed with progress and pushback. Beloit has the oldest NAACP chapter in Wisconsin, many of Rock County churches were founded by Abolitionists, and an abundance of Black families arrived during the Great Migration. Yet, for years, Janesville was a Sundown Town with racial covenants and a Ku Klux Klan chapter who hosted a rally as recently as the 1990s.
February Courageous Conversations aims to take a closer look at our local past and ask how we can make a difference in our present and future.
Parking Lot: 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Unmoderated Interaction After the Discussion – if needed)
Just to remind us all - the agreements for Courageous Conversations are:
1) stay engaged,
2) experience discomfort,
3) speak your truth, and
4) expect and accept non-closure