PLENARIES

JULY 31- FRIDAY - RIVERSIDE CHURCH - HARLEM

9:30 – 11:00 AM             PLENARY: STATE OF OUR MOVEMENTS South Hall 

In this grounding plenary, grassroots organizers from Los Angeles to Ferguson and Madison to New York City will reflect on the current state of the movement, speak to the urgency of building the power of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, share their forecasts of what is likely coming in the next year, and talk about what is needed from radical legal advocates.

• Moderators: Purvi Shah, Bertha Justice Institute Director, Center for Constitutional Rights & Marbre Stahly-Butts, Policy Advocate, Center for Popular Democracy

4:30 – 6:00 PM                PLENARY: THE BLACK RADICAL TRADITION IN LAW & ORGANIZING South Hall

Established in 1968 to serve as the legal arm for Black liberation and to protect the human rights of all African people in the diaspora, the National Conference of Black Lawyers heeded the call of developing unique and unorthodox legal remedies to address the legal, social and economic injustices endured by Black people. This tradition of radical organizing in the black community is far from new; it traces back to the Antebellum period, where the likes of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass helped to spearhead the end of black physical enslavement in this country.  In recent history, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and Black Panther Party, known as the more radical branches of the Civil Rights Movement, took the charge and, under the rubric of Black power, demanded justice, self-reliance and equal rights for all of Black America.

In this plenary, we consider the tradition and contribution of these radical groups to the Black liberation movements in this country and abroad; examine some of the unconventional strategies they used to resist state sanctioned anti-black violence and racism; survey how the #BlackLivesMatter movement can move forward with its mission to oppose the out-right assault and devaluing of Black lives in a world that heralds we live in a post-racial society; and discuss important takeaways that legal practitioners and organizers can use from these approaches of the past. 

AUGUST 1 - SATURDAY - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY – HARLEM

2:45 – 4:15 PM               PLENARY: RAD TALKS Lerner Auditorium 

Closing series of inspiring and radical talks by visionary legal and movement leaders. RadTalks surface radical ideas, deepen radical imagination and inspire radical action. Theme for this series of RadTalks will be "What Is Possible When The Legal Community Stands With Black Lives"