Overcoming Racism: Cultivating Transformation
November 14-15, 2014
Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN
Conference videos
Friday’s keynote speaker MayKao Hang, Wilder Foundation president & CEO.
Saturday’s keynote speaker Sam Grant, lifelong community organizer.
Transformation Talk videos by Leon Rodrigues, Elder Atum Azzahir, Dr. Ed Ehlinger, Maria Isa and Pastor Tim Johnson
Photos from the conference Thanks to Allyn Uniacke for the photography
Racism operates on multiple interacting levels, from the internalized and interpersonal to the institutional and structural. The 2014 Overcoming Racism conference will explore what transformation looks like and what it takes to cultivate it in ourselves and in our organizations, institutions and communities.
The work of guiding people to see their role in upholding the system of racial hierarchy and catalyzing action often begins with the individual, but also requires systemic transformation. Conversely, dismantling institutional and structural racism requires that we change structures, policies and practices while also engaging the thinking, feelings and actions of the people who inhabit those structures.
The 2014 Overcoming Racism Conference will explore methodologies and practices contributing to transformation within differing contexts, addressing multiple levels of change (individual, institutional, systemic), along with factors that have contributed to significant change towards achieving equity, social justice, and antiracism goals. A variety of promising practices, theories of change, engagement processes, and outcomes will be addressed.
Conference participants will have the opportunity to hear stories of transformation from multiple perspectives, to learn about approaches and tools for transformation, and to connect with others working to transform organizations, institutions and communities. Participants will deepen their understanding of systemic racism and whiteness, and the role of courageous and visionary leadership in transformation.