We invite white legislators, advocates, and partners to participate in a reflective space to ground their intentions as allies and co-conspirators with Black legislators and legislators of color in our movement for a multi-racial democracy. This session will be offered twice, on the first and last day of the National Conference. Healing Justice facilitators will hold space for self-introspection and empathy building, foundational skills to combat white fragility and improve the capacity of participants to engage in meaningful anti-racist work in their roles as policymakers, colleagues, and collaborators.
How do we move past electoral cycles to ensure that real change is felt by the communities who need it most? More so than any particular civic engagement or electoral strategy, a burgeoning practice of collaborative governance holds the greatest promise of giving people the power to truly drive meaningful change. Across the country, policymakers, advocates and grassroots leaders are employing collaborative governance to build lasting power and to win justice for their communities. This is the second of a two-part, repeating series in which speakers will share inspiring stories of this new practice at work, giving the audience glimpses of a future political reality they will find irresistible–one in which intersectional problems are met with intersectional responses, and in which the people most impacted by policy have true power in shaping it.
Leading while protecting religious equality means being able to communicate deep values, respecting the ways religion shapes constituents’ lives, and countering efforts to institutionalize a narrow religious ideology that threatens democracy. This session will be an interactive, skills-building workshop facilitated by religious leaders. Legislators will discuss how religion is manipulated to justify ideologies that exclude, harm, and limit freedom and equality. Then, legislators will discuss how religion can be a source of connection, meaning, and purpose. Next, legislators will highlight their core beliefs and values. Finally, legislators will be provided talking points, trained to “Say This, Not That,” and develop a step-by-step sequence for statements.
