: To lean into the culture of trying and brainstorming new action strategies. We will look to local leaders of color for thought partnership on dismantling structural inequities.
#Unflinching: A Call to Action
The 2025 Summit theme is "#Unflinching: A Call to Action." In the summer of 2014, St. Louis residents were faced with a choice: to accept the deadly and dangerous status quo OR to be unflinching and answer the calls to action that had been resonating with people facing racial oppression across the world. Tens of thousands of people decided to face tanks and tear gas, raising their voices for justice, rather than return to "life as normal." A movement led by Black working-class people sparked a global rebellion that reminds us of the choices we are faced with today.
St. Louis residents know what it's like to face a regressive and repressive power structure that values profits over people. We know what it's like to face an uncertain future, and still move forward for the sake of a better future for generations to come. We know that if we are to survive oppression, we will need to lean on and learn from each other.
We hope that the 2025 St. Louis Racial Equity Summit will be an #Unflinching space for us to share wisdom, strategy, and visions for a St. Louis region where, regardless of race and ZIP code, there is justice for all, an opportunity to thrive, and boundless possibility for all of our youth.
Call for Proposals
We need your help to shape this Summit by proposing presentations that emphasize actions that we can and must take toward lasting positive change. Proposals should consider the process, desired outcomes, and role of the community in the calls to action. Proposals should also consider how to impact transformation at an individual, regional, and systems level.
Proposal Selection
Proposals will be selected by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), which is made up of St. Louis-based residents with experience in grassroots organizing, community event planning, justice, and education. This year, the CAC will be selecting up to 28 breakout sessions and up to 4 panels. Sessions should be either 60, 75, or 90 minutes in length. The CAC seeks proposals aligned with Forward Through Ferguson's three Path to Racial Equity phases: "Building Awareness," "Understanding/Systems Analysis," and "Transforming/ Action".
Within these three phases, we seek proposals that fall into one or more of the following signature priority areas:
1)
Justice For All (safety, policing, courts, democracy, carceral system, etc.)
2) Opportunity to Thrive (housing, wealth, neighborhoods, health, transportation, employment, etc.)
3) Youth at the Center (education, child well-being, childcare, foster and adoptive care, etc.)
4) Racial Equity (philanthropy, DEIB, movement infrastructure, identity, etc.).
