Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah McConnell.
Rebekah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
On July 27, 2022 my 14 year old son, William, was struck by a car and killed at East Parkway and Broad Ave. After the initial shock started to lift, we were reminded over and over that how unsafe Memphis is for pedestrians. By September of that year, we were in front of the Memphis City Council asking them to start focusing on this problem. Through all of this, my father in law came up with the name William’s Walk, and an organization and movement was born. We knew that our grief would end up being turned into a mission. We were founded on the principal that no family have to suffer this preventable loss again.
Last year, we hosted our inaugural William’s Walk event. We had families and law makers from all over the city join us in community and purpose.
This year, we are hosting our second annual William’s Walk at Society Memphis on June 13, 2026. We will have food trucks, music, games and a short commemorative walk. We are also introducing a pilot program in partnership with Maxwell Driving School, Steps to Steering: 901, to fund drivers education for 10 Memphis high schoolers who otherwise wouldn’t’ have the ability to attend. Our goal is for this program to grow until no Memphis teen misses out of drivers ed because of their inability to pay for it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Pedestrian safety isn’t a flashy cause. It affects so many people, but it’s mostly ignored by the general public. We struggle in getting more people to become aware that pedestrian crashes are preventable. It seems to be an accepted part of sharing the road.
We also struggle to get the people in power to make the adjustments they can make to lessen pedestrian crashes. Roads in Memphis and greater TN are made for cars. While more and more neighborhoods and communities are encouraging walking, changes are not being made to make this safer for everyone.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about William’s Walk?
William’s Walk wants to make more people aware of the issues on Memphis roads. Pedestrian crashes affect so many people in Memphis, in 2022, we were the least safe city in the country for pedestrians, and so many people don’t think they can make a difference. The name William’s Walk serves to honor our son, who loved everyone he met, and bring attention to the fact that walking isn’t safe in Memphis.
We are trying to make a difference. We welcome everyone who has been affected by a pedestrian crash in Memphis to come along side of us, and work to change this.
We will soon open our nomination forms for our Steps to Steering: 901 program. We will have a few steps to be qualified and an application process to get students into drivers ed starting this fall. We are hoping to fund 10 high school students this year, 15 years old and up.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
People do care. We’ve had so many people with no connection personal connection with us that have contributed to our mission coming to life. It’s been so amazing to see strangers care as much as we do that we are successful and that we do raise awareness and help facilitate change.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.williams-walk.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamswalkmemphis/
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/williamswalk-memphis
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/williamswalkmemphis/
- Twitter: https://x.com/williamswalkmem
