Building on the Momentum of Equity Summit 2015

Dear Friends and Colleagues, Equity Summit 2015: All in for inclusion, justice, and prosperity closed on Thursday, October 29, exceeding all my expectations. I am deeply grateful for the enthusiasm, expertise, and open hearts that every speaker, performer, and participant brought to this event. The 3,000 diverse stakeholders in attendance — from policymakers to poets, academics to activists, civic leaders to business leaders — were a breathtaking testament to how far the equity movement has come. For the three days this unprecedented group met, shared insights, forged new collaborations, and strategized around some of the nation’s toughest problems, there was a growing conviction that this is our moment. Amid increasing national recognition that inequality is toxic and insupportable, it has become clear that America’s future depends on overcoming barriers to racial equity. Propelled by the momentum of the past few years, the growing movements to bring the demands of equity to the streets and the halls of power have the potential to transform the landscape of opportunity in this nation. This is truly equity’s moment. The essence of this moment is captured in The Equity Manifesto. Everyone who attended the Summit received a hard copy of this document and I’m honored to share it now with those who weren’t able to join us. I urge everyone to pass it on to friends and family, colleagues and partners. And there’s more to come. Today, we launch a 12-part “Summit Snapshot” blog series that will feature first-person accounts of sessions, written by Summit attendees. The series begins with “The Future of Equity in Place, Race, and Economy,” and a new post going live every weekday, so stay tuned to the PolicyLink Equity Blog for more. Later this month, we will share video footage of the three Summit plenaries and the opening video, “This Is Our Moment,” featuring Def Jam poet Mayda del Valle. The road toward equity in this nation is a long and arduous one. Equity Summit 2015 has shown us that there are more allies in this fight than ever before. In solidarity and gratitude, Angela Glover Blackwell President and CEO, PolicyLink