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Over the summer months, we announced our incredible keynotes: Tressie McMillan Cottom, W. Kamau Bell and Vu Le—and we still have a few surprises in store. While our sector continues to face unprecedented challenges, we as an organization are continuing to do everything within our power to continue to support mobilization efforts across the country and plan this critical gathering for the racial justice movement.
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Ways to Show Your Work at Facing Race
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We’re inviting small businesses local to the Raleigh-Durham area as well as businesses across the country to be part of our vibrant vendor marketplace. Whether you have the latest wellness and health products, services and resources to support the racial justice movement, we’d love to have you join us. This is a dynamic opportunity to showcase offerings in a high-traffic space open throughout this conference.
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Photo from Facing Race 2024 on November 13, 2024. (SOURCE: Myrina "Renaissance" Otey-Myton)
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We want to showcase advocacy projects, movement journalism series, archives, original art and more at the Facing Race exhibition hall. This is a perfect opportunity to connect various pieces of the movement and engage with organizations in which you are in alignment with. Check out the Facing Race Photo Gallery to see past exhibitions and vendor marketplaces.
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Photo from Facing Race 2024 on November 13, 2024. (SOURCE: Myrina "Renaissance" Otey-Myton)
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Apply for both opportunities by September 15 for a 50% discount. You can submit your application here. Please reach out to Race Forward’s development team at [email protected] for more information.
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Announcing Our 2026 Student Ambassadors!
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Facing Race has selected Wake Forest University students Cahner Smith and Hadassah Evans‘ as our inaugural student ambassadors. As part of our Community Benefits agreement, the programs sought out students from North Carolina based universities and colleges to increase student’s knowledge and awareness of the intersections of racial justice movement and get first hand access to some of the best leaders and organizers in the field.
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Smith is a senior double majoring in Political Science and International Affairs with a minor in African American studies and education. Evans is a junior double majoring in Sociology and African American studies.
We are thrilled to have them join us!
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Breakout Sessions You Won't Want to Miss!
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Building Power Across Difference: Organizing Multiracial Voter Coalitions
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Mimi Lok, Mimi Lok Consulting
Guest Speakers: Wendy Nguyen and Andrea Chen,
Rise Forward Foundation
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As democracy faces mounting pressure in the South and in critical swing states, how do we build voter power that reflects the full complexity of our multiracial communities? This panel dives into Rise Forward's 2026 programs: mobilizing voters in 12 competitive districts across AZ, IA, MI, and PA; combating Southern voter purges alongside the Mississippi NAACP and ACLU of Louisiana; and growing AAPI civic power in Mesa, AZ.
The second half turns into a working session, where attendees apply Rise Forward's cross-racial organizing framework to their own coalitions, funding models, and rapid-response strategies.
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Solidarity Love Languages: A Tool for Staying in Relationship Across Difference in Authoritarian Times
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Jessica Roig, Horizons Project
Suparna Choudhury, McGill University
Trevor Smith, BLIS Collective
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How do we work together to uphold democratic values without alignment in our values or lived experience? Solidarity is not something individuals possess but something that comes into being when people act together. Horizons Project and BLIS Collective have woven together insights from facilitating a diversity of cohorts to develop a concrete offering: Solidarity Love Languages, a playful way of articulating how solidarity is felt, enacted, & rehearsed.
To help with this, participants will get access to the Solidarity Love Languages tool. It’s a way of articulating how solidarity is felt, enacted, rehearsed, and repaired, and a practice for holding difference. It is a tool for thinking about plurality and power. Perhaps plurality as power.
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From Comment Period to Co-Governance: Reclaiming Public Institutions for Racial Justice
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Melissa Hagan-Nelson, Metro United Way and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
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Public comment does not equal public power. This interactive workshop introduces a research-based governance audit framework to analyze participation structures and design reforms that move institutions toward shared authority and accountability.
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Attend a pre-conference session
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Facing Race is your chance to take in one of our Racial Equity Training Series offerings in-person. Trainings include:
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- Building Racial Equity — Our foundational training introduces key concepts, frames, and tools, to strengthen racial equity practice across individual, organizational, and network levels.
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Photo from Facing Race 2024 on November 14, 2024. (SOURCE: Myrina "Renaissance" Otey-Myton)
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- Facilitating for Racial Equity — Explore how racial equity workshops are designed and led. Build skills in equity-focused facilitation, navigating social dynamics, and guiding learning in multiracial spaces.
- Narrative Strategy Learning Lab — Explore how harmful narratives shape policy and possibility, and how to build new stories that advance justice, belonging, and a multiracial democracy.
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The Bull and Oak Bus Tour explores the people, places, and movements that have shaped Raleigh and Durham and their lasting influence on North Carolina. The tour will take you to sites where historically marginalized communities built institutions to organize and bring those values to the state and national level.
Guided by local historians and community leaders, you will hear stories of how the resilience and solidarity of concerned citizens across city and color lines transformed North Carolina. Secure your ticket now before they sell out!
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After a full day of learning, organizing, connecting, and building together, it’s time to celebrate! Join us Friday night for Rooted & Rising: The Facing Race Party, an evening dedicated to joy, movement, music, and community.
Attendees can expect bangin’ sounds from DJ Boogie, special live performances, and plenty of opportunities to hit the dance floor and connect with the Facing Race community. Admission is included with your registration—just bring your conference badge and come ready to have a good time.
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Photos from Facing Race 2024 party on November 21, 2024. (SOURCE: Myrina "Renaissance" Otey-Myton)
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Already registered for Facing Race? Whether you're a sponsor, volunteer, breakout presenter, or just attending, this conference would not be what it is without you!
We invite you to share your good news across social media. Here is a link to the Facing Race toolkit, complete with graphics and social copy to make it easy for you to share and tag.
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Learn more about all of these opportunities at facingrace.us.
Questions? Please reach out with any questions or concerns at [email protected].
In solidarity and community,
The Facing Race Team
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Sponsorship Opportunities
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Sponsor Facing Race. Facing Race offers sponsors a unique opportunity to highlight their commitment to racial justice. Contact Timarie Harrigan, vice president of development and partnerships, at t[email protected] to find sponsorship solutions that work best for you.
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Copyright © Race Forward, PO Box 96353, Washington, DC 20090-6353, USA
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