Facing Race: A National Conference in St. Louis, MO — November 20-22, 2024

Facing Race Archive

Facing Race 2022

Facing Race 2022: Phoenix Program cover with various faces amounts cactuses with yellow, orange, and pink sky.
Phoenix, Arizona

Historian and National Award-winning bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi presented the keynote at this Facing Race Confence in Phoenix, Arizona.

Breakout Sessions focused on these subject areas:

  • Narrative, Arts, and Culture
  • Institutional and Sectoral Change
  • Movement & Community Driven Solutions
  • Race Identities & Innovations

We also had Race Flicks and Racial Justice Reads presenting films and authors.

Facing Race 2020

Facing Race logo with "Goes Virtual" tagline on dark blue background with concentric hexagonal designs with people with raised hands along the sides.
Virtual

The Reverend Doctor William Barber II, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign was the keynote for this year’s Facing Race conference.

This conference was originally planned to take place in Raleigh, NC, but due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, Facing Race 2020 went virtual for the first time.

Facing Race 2018

Facing Race logo with stylized portraits of people with interconnecting stylized lines in shades of blue.
Detroit, Michigan

#MeToo founder Tarana Burke, and comedian Hari Kondabolu presented keynotes at the Facing Race Conference.

Facing Race 2018 introduced the Racial Justice Reads literary fair and had breakout sessions focusing on these areas:

  • Arts, Media, & Culture
  • Organizing and Advocacy
  • Inclusive Democracy
  • Racial Identities and Innovation

Facing Race 2016

Facing Race logo with blue and purple shapes radiating with overlapped heads and arms with tagline, "Our Stories. Our Solutions."
Atlanta, Georgia

The first Facing Race conference to feature two keynote presentations by Roxane Gay — writer, professor, editor, commentator, and author of “Bad Feminist” and Jose Antonio Vargas — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker, and founder of Define American.

Opening the conference was an electrifying plenary entitled, “Multiracial Movement for Black Lives” with moderator Michelle Alexander, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law professor, civil rights advocate and writer.

Facing Race 2014

Facing Race logo with names of sessions in the shape of Texas. November 13-15, 2014.
Dallas, Texas

In a powerful intergenerational event that reflects the broad range of Facing Race attendees and individuals engaged in the racial justice movement, three generations of activists — Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, her daughter Toshi Reagon, and granddaughter Tashawn Reagon — gave the keynote at this year’s conference.

Facing Race 2012

Red program cover with yellow building outlines with tagline “Define Justice. Make Change.”
Baltimore, Maryland

Celebrating its 30th Anniversary, the Applied Research Center (ARC) presents the biennial Facing Race conference with celebrated Dominican-American author Junot Díaz as Facing Race keynote speaker.

Key issues to be addressed include 2012 election, economy, arts & culture, education reform, multiracial organizing, immigrant rights, and the development of racial justice leadership and training models.