Melinda Weekes-Laidlow
Melinda is Founder of Beautiful Ventures, a racial equity driven social impact fund for creative entrepreneurs. As President of Weekes In Advance Enterprises, she specializes in high stakes facilitation and organizational change consulting. After practicing law for several years, Melinda held posts at the Interaction Institute for Social Change and Race Forward. She is Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Echoing Green, and hosts a Future of Storytelling Video Roundtable for NAMAC. Melinda is ordained clergy and holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Harvard University and New York University School of Law.
Presentations from Facing Race 2016
The Business of Racial Justice
Rooted in the practices of “activist entrepreneurs” from Atlanta, North Carolina and around the US, we will explore questions such as: Are venture capital, social enterprise and innovation hubs viable strategies to disrupt structural racism? How can business be used to dismantle interlocking systems of oppression? What are some examples? What is working? What are we learning from our challenges? And finally, can the master’s tools really ever dismantle the master’s house? Come ready to explore these questions and more in this interactive, practice-focused, provocative session of racial change agents who grapple with these questions on a daily basis.
Speakers: Melinda Weekes-Laidlow, Hosan LeePresentations from Facing Race 2014
The Beautiful Struggle: Towards A Multi-Faith Movement for Racial Justice
It's not taboo to talk the stuff of religion, politics and race here! In small and large group conversations, participants of diverse faith traditions and spiritual commitments will:
• Connect with each other as racial justice change agents
• Share stories of racial equity struggles and victories from within their particular faith traditions and spiritual communities
• Identify inter-faith racial justice victories happening across faith traditions and spiritual communities
• Imagine an activated, culturally relevant, multi-faith movement for racial justice across the U.S.
Come contribute to this interactive conversation space to help forge a creative new path forward for a racially just multi-faith movement for social justice.