The Virtual Experience
September 25, 2025
9:00 AM - 10:45 AM
RingCentral
Opening Keynote
We are honored to open the Virtual Day of this year’s Racial Justice Summit with a keynote from Robin Wall Kimmerer, a renowned scientist, storyteller, and author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants and The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. A member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Dr. Kimmerer brings a rich and deeply rooted perspective that weaves together Indigenous ways of knowing, ecological science, and a profound ethic of care.
Dekila Chungyalpa, founding director of the Loka Initiative, and YWCA Madison CEO Gery Paredes Vásquez will be holding the space with Dr. Kimmerer.
This keynote will root our Summit experience in the wisdom of interconnectedness and offer a powerful foundation for envisioning relational, land-based, ecosystem-centered, and liberatory futures.
Robin Wall Kimmerer
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Zoom
Connection & Reflective Processing Spaces
As part of the Racial Justice Summit, Connection and Reflective Processing Spaces offer attendees dedicated time to pause, reflect, and engage in meaningful dialogue. These spaces are curated to support emotional processing, self-awareness, and community care as we navigate complex topics together. Many of these sessions are affinity-based, allowing participants to reflect and connect within shared lived experiences and identities in a supportive and grounded environment.
Meet-Up Spaces are community-driven gatherings that invite attendees to connect across different areas of justice work. These spaces are designed to spark conversations, share resources, and build connections rooted in shared interests. Meet-up spaces has the potential to create pathways for continued relationship-building, coalition work, and solidarity that extend beyond the two days of the Summit.
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Zoom
Virtual Afternoon Breakout Experiences
As part of the Virtual Day of the Racial Justice Summit, attendees are invited to participate in live breakout sessions hosted on Zoom or RingCentral. These sessions offer meaningful opportunities to dive deeper into the Summit’s key themes through interactive learning, dialogue, and practice. Facilitated by movement leaders, cultural workers, and justice practitioners, each session will explore topics such as abolition, healing justice, organizational transformation, environmental justice, and more.
Engagement modalities will vary and may include facilitator presentations, small-group conversations, journaling prompts, somatic and mindfulness practices, collaborative visioning, or creative reflection. Whether you’re seeking to expand your understanding, build practical skills, or co-create possibilities for liberation, the breakout spaces offer something for everyone.
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
RingCentral
Closing
Generative Dialogue
Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Maurice Mitchell, and Cristina Jiménez with Maliha Nu’Man
The Virtual Day of the Racial Justice Summit will conclude with a powerful intergenerational Generative Dialogue featuring keynote contributors Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Maurice Mitchell, Cristina Jiménez, hosted by Maliha Nu’Man. This closing session invites us into meaningful conversation with visionary leaders who have shaped and continue to guide transformative justice movements.
Each contributor will weave reflection, strategy, and vision, offering a collective closing moment inspired by bold possibilities and a renewed commitment to showing up with our full gifts as part of an emergent liberation ecosystem.