2021 St. Louis Racial Equity Summit Recap
Nearly 1,000 people attended this year’s Racial Equity Summit to engage, to grow, and to design plans to address structural inequity.
This year’s Summit was historic. We’re still buzzing with excitement. With nearly 1,000 attendees from across 30 states and even overseas, the 2021 St. Louis Racial Equity Summit demonstrated both where we are in the community-centered movement for Racial Equity, as well as where we can go when we engage, grow, and strategize together.
Please join us as we reflect on just some of the remarkable moments from this year’s Summit. We engaged with over 60 local presenters and 3 nationally-recognized headline speakers, and, with help from each of our attendees, we held rich community conversation, participation, and much, much more.
Opening Day — Keynote + Q&A with Edgar Villanueva
The 2021 St. Louis Racial Equity Summit: Our Truth. Our Transformation: Connecting Yesterday’s Lessons to Tomorrow’s Possibilities, kicked off on Wednesday, August 4th with opening remarks from local Racial Equity leaders David Dwight IV, Executive Director of Forward Through Ferguson, & Atia Thurman, Associate Director at the Clark-Fox Policy Institute.
Edgar Villanueva, Justice Philanthropy expert and author of Decolonizing Wealth, took the stage for an afternoon presentation where he named & called for healing from the effects of colonialism on the finance sector, and discussed the St. Louis region’s role in the national movement for Racial Equity and Justice. We closed out the day with a virtual Happy Hour hosted by Rachel D’Souza Siebert and Natalie Self, where we reflected on the day, and recharged for Day 2!
“‘Ferguson’” was a movement moment that sparked something in the conscience of this country. I think what happened there really matters. The fight for Racial Justice in this country is always going to reflect back on that time.” — Edgar Villanueva
Day 2 — Panels, Breakouts Sessions, and a Chat with Dr. Angela Davis
We hit the ground running on Thursday with impassioned introductions from Erica Henderson, Executive Director of St. Louis Promise Zone, Wally Siewert, Director of Civic Engagement at FOCUS St. Louis, and St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones!
The Summit’s first panel, Alternatives to the Carceral State — How to Transform St. Louis’ Public Safety System, was hosted by representatives of the Defund. Re-envision. Transform. campaign.
After a workshop from Witnessing Whiteness Author Shelly Tochluk and a full day of breakout sessions from dozens of local leaders, we settled in alongside 700 other activists and advocates and watched Dr. Angela Davis discuss activism, abolition, & the Racial Justice movement with Kayla Reed and Blake Strode, Executive Directors of Action St. Louis and Arch City Defenders, respectively.
The conversation inspired tons of audience excitement and conversation, and helped to lift up St. Louis as a region where incredible work is happening every day. Thank you, Dr. Davis, Kayla, and Blake!
“As a person whose been in activism all my life… whenever we reach such moments when it looks like we’ve had an impact, we don’t sit back and applaud ourselves — we push forward.” — Dr. Angela Davis
About the Breakout Sessions
Participants heard from over 60 local presenters across 19 Breakout sessions. The sessions featured four tracks, which echoed the Ferguson Commission Report’s Signature Priorities: Racial Equity, Opportunity to Thrive, Youth at the Center, and Justice For All.
Within these sessions, participants built their awareness of systemic racial inequities, grew their understanding of current systemic issues and power dynamics, and outlined plans for how to address them. Click over to racialequitystl.org to review the full lineup of presenters and breakout sessions.
Day 3 — Closing out with Continued Breakouts, Continued Growth, and Radical Dreaming with adrienne maree brown
On the final day of the Summit, we joined together and completed the last of a powerful series breakout sessions. During her keynote presentation, adrienne maree brown, author and writer-in-residence at the Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute, delivered wise reflections and poetry that inspired us to radically expand our imaginations to truly envision a transformed, just, and equitable world.
“We are dreaming to each other that Black Lives Matter — and not just black straight ablebodied male lives, but black queer trans women’s and non-binary disabled lives matter. We will say the names of these lives and we will take direct action and change policy until these lives matter to everyone.” — adrienne maree brown
From adrienne’s presentation, we moved into the Summit’s final panel: a discussion with Ohun Ashe, Rebeccah Bennett, and Faybra Hemphill, moderated by David Dwight IV. The group held space to walk through what imagination and liberation means to them, and shared lessons on understanding, remembering, and protecting our individual powers.
Participant Feedback
Respondents to the Summit survey provided keen insight into the specific individual impacts of the event for them:
“Being a part of the STL movement is so inspiring and motivational to continue the hard work the POC folks are doing. I feel so honored to be in the presence of brilliance and history-making people.”
“This was my primer into the Racial Justice movement. I have a lot to learn, but I can make an impact from where I’m sitting by holding myself and my allies accountable. I was inspired to be more present in the movement by the many speakers.”
“Like many other attendees, I have been a part of and attended many, many conferences, summits, etc. aimed at the issue of racial equity/social justice and this summit was the most meaningful, tangible, and thoughtful I have ever experienced. So much of the time, these type of events can feel so underwhelming and detached. This summit was as “real” as it was aspirational. So rare.”
Thank You, Sponsors!
This event was sponsored by an expansive list of organizations and individuals whose collective generosity helped make this event and its many impacts possible. We’re encouraged by the support of such a diverse group of local and national backers, and are excited to thank Greater St. Louis Inc., Missouri Foundation for Health, and each and everyone else listed here:
The Organizing Committee
Forward Through Ferguson was proud to serve on the Committee that helped organize the 2021 St. Louis Racial Equity Summit. Joining us on this committee were other key regional organizations: FOCUS St. Louis, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute at Washington University, and the St. Louis Community Foundation.
The Community Advisory Committee
A collective group of community members and organization representatives collaborated this year to provide input on the content of the 2021 St. Louis Racial Equity Summit. Meet the experts across the fields of Philanthropy, Justice Systems, Economics, Education, Youth, and DEI, who helped to ensure that every aspect of the Summit’s planning was done through a community-centered lens:
Keep the Momentum Going
Join the Forward Through Ferguson Catalyst Network Community—a platform that exists to connect all levels of activists to clear pathways of engagement. From event volunteering, to hosting a friend-raiser, to amplifying important social media announcements — the Catalyst Network lets you engage in the ways that work best for you, and awards you points and perks for doing it!
If you’re ready to learn more and join this community of Racial Equity Catalysts, just fill out this interest form. Indicate how and where you want to impact change, and you’ll be notified about opportunities that relate to your specific interests and capacity!
