We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For

What an amazing night! More than 300 troublemakers gathered to celebrate, honor, and keep advancing the transformative work of the Shriver Center at our Homecoming Gala: Justice Reimagined last week.

This is an urgent moment in the fight for racial and economic justice. And the Shriver Center is meeting that moment with advocacy, training, and support to national networks of champions for justice.

Our President & CEO, Audra Wilson, acknowledged that this work is hard. Over the past two years alone, in an exceptionally hostile political climate, we’ve fought to close the persistent racial wealth gap, fought to expand health coverage during a pandemic that disproportionately impacted our most vulnerable communities, and fought against the rise in racialized violence that harkens back to a darker time in our nation’s history. And yet, Audra challenged us to find the joy in our mission.

Justice is the right to joy. Audra urged us to recognize our responsibility and the power of our interconnectedness to one another. We must reconsider the ways we think about our fight to break down barriers, build more equitable systems, and ensure economic opportunity and mobility.

There is no justice when there is no truth. Our featured speaker, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, acknowledged that working for justice requires truth and courage, and it is hard. Luvvie recruited us all to join her as “professional troublemakers”—people willing to speak the truth and get uncomfortable. “Until we say justice is more important than comfort, that courage is more important than whatever we’re scared of, we cannot get to where we want to be.”

We closed the evening with a celebratory house dance party led by the legendary DJ Farley “Jackmaster” Funk.

We can’t do this work alone. Our success is made possible because of your partnership in the fight. Support our work for racial and economic justice now.