WORT 89.9FM Madison

What to Expect at YWCA's 2024 Racial Justice Summit

Next Wednesday, the Madison YWCA is hosting their annual Racial Justice Summit. This year, the 2024 Racial Justice Summit will occur virtually on September 25th and 26th and in-person at Monona Terrace on September 27th. The theme for the summit is Reflect, Connect, and Create New Worlds. Ahead of the event, A Public Affair host Ali Muldrow is joined today by YWCA's Race & Gender Equity team Libby Tucci, Myxee Thao, and Semaj Sconiers. They discuss what can be expected next week, the complexities of their work, and the ongoing pursuit of racial justice. Registration for the in person events and workshops is closed, but tickets for the virtual keynotes can be purchased on YWCA's website. Photo of the 2022 Summit, credit Hedi LaMarr Photography

Broadcast on:: 18 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: other

- Hi, I'm Ali Maldro, the host of a public affair on Wednesdays. If you'd like to tune into my show any day of the week, any hour of the day, head on over to w-o-r-t-f-m-dot-o-r-g. And while you're there, make a donation to Support Community Radio. ♪ Six more, six up, I'll see you level ♪ ♪ I grab my mic because I like to take you to another mental level ♪ ♪ No power, frequency, radio, modulation ♪ - Good afternoon, Madison. You're listening to W-O-R-T, 89.9 FM Madison. I'm your host, Ali Maldro. This is a public affair, and today we're gonna have, like, an absolutely amazing conversation. I wanna start by thanking everybody who donated last week. We felt a little shy of our goal, but the good news is that a group of donors had agreed to give us a matching fun donation made today through September 22nd. That means anything you give is automatically doubled. Next Wednesday, the YWCA is hosting their annual racial justice summit. This year, the racial justice summit will occur virtually on September 25th and 26th, then in person at the Monona Terrace on September 27th. Joining us to talk about the summit are the members of the race and gender equity team, Libby Tucci, Mysi Tao, and Samanjay Skonier. How are y'all doing today? - So good, it's so good to be here. Thank you so much for having us. - I am so deeply inspired by the work that you all do, bringing the racial justice summit to Madison, year after year. I've been several times, it only gets better. Let's talk a little bit about what folks can expect this year from the racial justice summit. I'm gonna start with you, Libby. - Yeah, thank you so much again for having us. This is just a delight to be here. And yeah, this summit this year, each year we sort of build on the last year, we've sort of got our format of virtual and in person going. And a lot of times what sort of sets the distinction from one year to the next is our theme. And so for this year, the theme is reflect, connect, and create new worlds. And that theme was inspired by the metaphor of the kaleidoscope. Those three things reflect and connect and create new worlds represent the three movements of a kaleidoscope. And this, the story of the kaleidoscope is very, very connected to our beloved former director of this team who is now the CEO of YWCA, Madison. And so we've been playing with that metaphor of those movements of the kaleidoscope and reflect and connect and create new worlds to shape all of the experiences that we're bringing to life this year, which for those of you that know us or have been there before, that means that we invite a whole lot of dialogue. Basically we try to stay away from the sort of like set and get type keynote experiences. We love a generative dialogue, which means that we've invited all of our keynotes to do their own sort of reflection and bringing of insights in playing with that theme as well. And so our keynotes will be in conversation with one another, exploring that theme. - Oh, that's so exciting to hear. I want to ask your team a little bit, you all as a team a little bit to my see, what are some of the things about this year's summit that really promote the mission of the Y? So you all, your mission statement, it's hard to forget. I feel like it's very rare that people are aware, but yours is empowering women and eliminating racism. So just like a small, you know, to-do list for you all, how does this year's summit really speak to empowering women and eliminating racism? - Yes, I love this question because it truly speaks to what we, not only here at the Y do, but we have so many sister organizations across the country and even globally that share this mission with us. As it relates to the summit, it is integrated, I believe, in everything that we do from the keynotes to the sessions facilitated by both national practitioners and local practitioners right here in Madison. We have some folks coming from Milwaukee, La Crosse, so Wisconsin. And it's part of everything we do, including the rooftop party that ends the last day, right? Here at the Y, we believe that eliminating racism is not only about the structural work that we tend to think about in terms of, you know, lobbying at the capital or protesting, those are definitely part of how we build collective action. But we also believe that the work starts internally by connecting with our values, by being in right relationship with each other. And that is exactly the spirit of the summit, bringing together a beloved community with a spirit of joy on learning, learning for racial justice on this path to our collective liberation. As a part of that, you know, we have this year, maybe Sumaja, you can talk more about that, but we've got youth and as part of the summit experience. So we have a ton more options that are centering youth voices. Our dialogues are especially the second day virtually and our closing dialogue in person, our intergenerational where we have elders, adults talking with youth. And that's all a part of our mission to empower women in the eliminate racism by thinking about all the levels that we can do this. Again, not only broadly and structurally, but relationally within organizations, within our city, within ourselves. I really appreciate the within ourselves component of the work you all are doing, because I think it's easy often to, you know, have like that unit on the civil rights movement and history class and be like, no, I get it, and I'm on the right side of this, and I know how to talk about it, 'cause I am not racist and I am against racism. And you all are really giving folks in our community an opportunity to broaden their analysis and to embody their activism and their beliefs in a way that makes real material change. And I think there's something so thrilling and deeply healing about that work. Before we get carried away in this gorgeous conversation with these three incredible leaders in our community, I just wanna give a shout out to the team that made this show possible. We would not have these extraordinary guests today if it was not for our producer Jade, who just, just knows. She just understands the pulse of this community and she makes sure that we are excited for the things that are happening right here in Madison. Huge shout out to our producer Jade. Our engineer, Jay, say happy birthday. If you give us a call today, if you join us, he is spending his 29th birthday volunteering at WORT, because he is a 72 year old trapped in the body of a 29 year old, and there's a lot to celebrate about that. And then you shout out to our news director, Shali Pitman, who is just, you know, the heart and soul of what we do and the glue keeping this together. I am so lucky to get to work with this team at WORT. And I'm so lucky to get to have this conversation with a team about what it means to work together in kind of the trenches of this work and what it means to uplift conversations about racial justice in a community like Madison. You all have, you know who's gonna be at this conference. People have registered, people have paid, people have been talking about this for months. So Manjay, I'm wondering if you can speak to a little bit about kind of who's in the room? What does this look like? I think a lot of people hear racial justice and they either know that that's for them or they're worried that they might be invading something that is not for them. Who all is welcomed in this space? Why, how do you all cultivate the community in terms of your participants and those who attend that can promote the best outcomes as it relates to your mission? - Oh, absolutely. I'm gonna do my best to answer this. I'm gonna tag in my folks. I feel like I got like the hard question. So there wouldn't be y'all. But when I think about who we are as a team, when I think about our mission and I think about our practice, the summit is open to everybody, any and everybody who is wanting and needing and yearning to be a community, who is wanting, needing and yearning to heal, who wants to unlearn and learn new ways of being and be steeped in the practice of just being counter-culture to what we know, right? To get even more specific, we have educators in this space, right? We have youth in this space. I think something that folks don't really know about our process is that this is a year-long process. In the summit, it's co-constructed each and every year with local practitioners. And we have a small group of folks that we call our curators who literally take the entire year with us as a team, building out this entire three-day experience, right? So wherever you are at, we're in a profession, right? Whatever race, walk of life. This is a space for you to be in. So I hope that answers your question. - That is a beautiful answer to this question. - Okay. - And as a person who's attended, I think you feel that when you're there. I think you feel that this is people of all ages, people of all identities, people of all income backgrounds, have a seat at the table in these conversations. And there is a dynamic in which this conference confronts real issues that do not just exist in our systems, but exist between us as people. And I do think that there's gotta be moments where your team has to be prepared for conversations to be heated or tumultuous or harmful. And I'm curious about what it looks like to address those dynamics in real time in the space. I'm gonna aim that question in at you, Libby. - Thank you. Yeah, actually what you've named is one of the themes that we're at, that we're asking a lot of our keynotes to speak to this year. Like the generative dialogue on Thursday morning with Ruth King, Kazu Haga, Kamehameha Nuki, and Stephanie down at Salgado is like, is actually attending almost like, that's a big part of the exploration there, which is like, this question of like, how do we stay in community as movement makers, as people that are interested in shaping justice and like a more just future? There's no way we're gonna like, I'll be like sort of on the same exact page for how we think we're gonna do this. But like, what does it look like for us to actually like not throw each other in the garbage? How do we stay with one another? How do we stay in beloved community? And how do we actually listen enough to be able to try something new, shape a totally different possibility? And so like, go ahead. - Well, no, I mean, in a world where Kendrick, you know, created the hit song of the summer, they're not like us, like in a world in which there is a them and there isn't us, there are the awake and the asleep, there are the Dems and the Republicans. I think these conferences, part of what happens is you realize the issues span beyond how people identify politically racially. And there is these moments as a black woman in America, I feel like I'm amazed when I'm in very progressive spaces and I'm the only person that wants to talk about racism or name something as a phenomena of racism. How do you all prevent kind of the labor of educating from being the responsibility of the people of color in this space? But how do you kind of redirect the care that black people and brown people are conditioned to give white folks when they feel challenged around these kinds of conversations? - Totally, I think I can take that and then maybe y'all can build on anything I miss. But I think for us for a long time, in all of our facilitated practices, we find race-based community and identity-based community learning spaces to be really imperative. And that means that there are dedicated spaces for white people to go and do some learning and unlearning together that is not where the burden of that learning and unlearning is not put on the black indigenous and people of color around them. And similarly, we're creating really intentional spaces for BIPOC that can be really responsive to like need for healing, need for support, need for conversations that are actually just for this particular community. And so there's the specificity of the learning that comes there. But I think that what is always very important to us about being able to be in those like identity-based learning spaces is also the coming back together. That's a really big part of that practice too, right? Is like we get to be, go and have the really responsive, attentive, kind of like specific learning and unlearning and healing experiences. And then we also have these spaces where we are in multiracial community and that's that place of practice of like, can we sort this out together? How do we continue to be with one another? That's what comes to mind for me. Team, anything to add there? - Yeah, you know, I think as facilitators because when we're not planning the summit, we facilitate with organizations, right? Like we always go back to the fundamentals. So when we're coming together, how do we set this group container so that the intentionality is front and center? You, people who have attended the summit know that we do grounding practices. We set intentions. We are very thoughtful about the questions that we pose and the tools that we have available for people to process, take notes and integrate their learning. And I think that that supports the process as well. When we know how we can show up for each other and then for ourselves and what it takes for us to hold that space together. Because holding space is not just the one person doing it or two people doing it, but it takes the community to be together writing the same energy. - I mean, I love these answers so much and yet there's a part of me that's like, no, for real guys, what do you do when somebody does the racism? Like what do you do when somebody is proactively doing something racist in a space like this? Was somebody is proactively doing something sexist or homophobic or harmful? That has to come up in these spaces and what does it look like to proactively interrupt that? What does it look like to make space for that as part of the learning process? And I really love kind of the caucus thing that you talked about because I do think there's something deeply protective in that end at the same time. I think a lot of people would rather avoid this conversation than get it wrong. And so what are the boundaries within these conversations that for somebody who maybe doesn't feel like they have the right language or the right analysis or is afraid to mess up? Is afraid to say something racist, sexist, insensitive? What are the boundaries that really help people to participate in their learning in a way that promotes the dignity of everybody who's in attendance? And I feel like you've named some of those things, but I'm curious. Samanjay, in your experience, what does that look like? How does that, how did those dynamics get encouraged, interrupted, redirected in real time? - Okay, I was sitting here patiently, processing this and I go in between being an attendee and being a person, putting together this beautiful thing. And one thing that I could say is I'm never worried about those moments and I know that's a huge statement to say, but I worry less about those moments because when you walk in that summit, when you go weather it's on the Zoom or the virtual platform that we have, or you actually walk into Monona Terrace, you are literally immersed in love. There is so much love that feels this space. And I think something else that happens in the space too is we rely on the people in that space in their practices. We rely on the local practitioners from all variations of being a practitioner, whether you're a wellness practitioner or a sort of justice practitioner, an educator steeped in love pedagogy. Like we rely on the community to tend to the community. So when harm does happen, it comes up because again, it's what happens humans are gonna be humans and stuff is gonna happen. We somehow someway have a beautiful way of bouncing back from those moments. And I think the other piece that people know when they come into this space, especially if you've been like doing this for years, you know this is a space where you can unmask, where you can be human, where we can call you a practitioner. But what that means for us truly is that you are a human and you are being humanized in this space. You're gonna make mistakes, but you also are gonna come in here with so much beauty and so much wisdom. And it's super important that we really, really like hone in on how we build the container from day one. Actually, we've been building this container since we set the outlook to come register a week. So we really have been building this idea of like, this is a space where we are going to pull apart all of the ways we've been conditioned to be in spaces. Whether you told ourselves in because we don't wanna make mistakes or whether it's taken up too much space. And again, because you are so loved in this space and you have the permission to show up in your true authentic self and know that the person to the left or the right of you is gonna call you in, not call you out or something, not canceling folks, but they don't call you mad. And I'm gonna have this space to be with you in a way you need to be with you. And there's so many multi-dimensional spaces that we are holding in sessions for folks to go into, which is beautiful, right? So you had an experience where you could just sit and be with yourself. You got an experience where you can talk about performative versus impactful movements and things like that I'm stumbling over my words and I'm getting real. Like I'm feeling the chills come through 'cause this is how much there's something new to me. But yes, I think if any space where I wanted to make a mistake, it would be in the summit. If I wanted to have any moment of like being redirected or even guided or having some type of care towards me, it would be in that summit because there are so many people who eat, sleep, and breathe this work. And baby, when that, when that, when you walk, I'm telling you, when you walk the Monona Terrace or whatever time of the day you get there, you are like just hit with this draft of love and joy and care, like it's a family reunion for sure, for sure. - Oh man, I think that's such a beautiful description of how you all cultivate this space and the kind of create this, how you create this space. So Monona, I can't thank you enough for saying like, you are enveloped in love. Like this is a space that is really about meeting people where they're at and informing people through a space of care. And there is kind of this departure of ego when you enter a space like that because everybody has something to learn. Everybody has something to give and contribute. And I think there's something really special and really rare about that. If you're just tuning in, you're listening to a public affair on WORT 89.9 FM Madison. My name is Ali Muldrow and today we're talking with Libby Tucci, Maisie, Tao and Samanje Sconier from the YMCA. Y-W-C-A, I'm so sorry y'all. That song was such a part of my childhood. Like it's really, I cannot see those letters without like almost like starting to do the sign language to the song. The YWCA, I know where they work y'all. They are joining us to discuss the 2024 Racial Dumb Justice Summit. If you have questions, give us a call at 608-256-2001. If you wanna just say happy birthday to Jay, you can also give us that call. Like celebrate that we have an incredible engineer who is like making this show possible on the day he was born. I wanna kind of dive in to some of the things that you look forward to and the outcomes that you hope are promoted through this conference. I think it's really, sometimes the hardest part of entering these spaces is seeing how a world can work or how you can show up in a space if you have the right scaffolding and support and then going back into our world that isn't really set up to have these conversations proactively isn't really set up to address these issues. And in fact, it's more set up to promote and perpetuate inequity than resolve inequity. How do you hope people leave this conference? What do you hope that the long-term results of all the work you all have done is felt by this community and I'll start with you, my C. - Yeah, well, I think that this work can be very lonely because the ways that systems work is that it divides us and oftentimes when you care about something a lot like racial justice, it can feel really alienating, perhaps lonely. And so I hope that people, if anything, walk away from the summit feeling connected, inspired by the people they need, inspired by themselves and seeing themselves for the gifts that they hold. I hope that people walk away with so much joy because being together and in this new world that we hope to create and literally replicate at the summit, these ways of being that we're practicing today. Joy is at the center of that. And I think that drawing on Adrienne Marie Brown's wisdom, we exist to be joyous, to indulge in the pleasures of life. Why are they there and why? Why are they there if we're not relishing in it? I hope that people continue to channel that connectedness, and channel that joy because that's what sustains us when things get really difficult. - Oh, I love that as an outcome of a conference is that people have these like long lasting and powerful relationships because I think anybody who's ever experienced that doesn't, you understand like how life-changing it is to find your people, to find the people that you can engage in this work with and have these conversations with and lean on as this work is challenging. We have a presidential candidate, a nominee for the Democratic Party that sits at the intersection of race and gender. It's the first time in American history that a woman of color is going to be leading the ticket for a major party in our country. How does the political climate shape the conversations that folks are going to be having? There is a lot of rhetoric right now about how divided we are as a country, about how much hatred has increased, about how violence targeting minority court communities in the LGBTQ community, specifically the trans community, is rising. It's not falling, it's not going away. There is more of it. How does that factor in to the way you've cultivated this conference this year? Libby, I'm gonna start with you. - Yeah, that's huge. It was like, it's not last on us that this is happening in September and we've got a whole, there's something quite intense about to happen in November. And I think for us, it's gonna be like, it's not that, so that the election and the rhetoric and the narrative that's present will always have an impact. But for us, I think what we always wanna shape is be really clear on our vision of the future that we're shaping and create experiences and bring in experiences that will help people themselves also feel clear on that, right? Like you were naming intersectionality, that's a really big part of how we shape this, is that it's the racial justice summit and we are really intentional about bringing together all of the, to bring in all the ways that people are doing work in other areas of justice that are absolutely intersecting with racial justice too. And so there's a session on a virtual day specifically about, at that intersection of working for, like against transphobia and against white supremacy at the same time, like how are those issues related? And so that people, what we hope is that people can have, can get connected with people who are really deeply steeped in all of these intersections. There's another, there's like reproductive justice is huge. It's a huge part of like what's going on and the narrative in the political climate. And so we have a session that is really, that is attending very specifically to that intersection of racial justice, reproductive justice, how, what are we fighting for? How do we shape these narratives together? Immigration justice, like there's like, if you take a look at like the facilitated sessions also, we've brought together people from across so many different areas of justice, labor and immigration justice, reproductive justice, the LGBTQIA, like, like addressing specifically like what is happening in Palestine right now. Like all of that is present. And so people, what we hope is that people will find the opportunity and opportunity for themselves to get more clear on what the imitation is with the broad goal being how do we continue to move in solidarity? Like knowing what we hope to be able to do, like there's some things that we can do in this selection. And there's been some things that are going to be required from us forever. And so having a sense of clarity about what is required from me at moment to moment to bring forward the vision of a multiracial movement for solid, that is based in solidarity. - Libby, I just- - That's not how they get us, right? Is they separate us? - Libby, I feel like it's hard to match your level of like joy and excitement in confronting oppression. I just think it's rare that people feel like have that. You said we'll be doing some of this work forever. And you said it was so much excitement that I think that that's in and of itself kind of embracing the attitude that you all bring to this work, which is the fun part of living in an unjust world is fighting for it to be just. That is the most satisfying work you can be doing right now. - Can I add one more piece to that? - Yes. - And seeing who else is in the river with you, this is a metaphor we utilize that like look who is in the movement with you. Look around and celebrate that there are so many people that are absolutely committed to change and that is something to attend to, you know? - Yes, I mean, I think that's a great reason to be there next week is to look around and remind yourself and I really appreciate that you all have talked about kind of the isolation and the hostility that can really surround you in trying to do this work effectively and the need to be in community. I wanna talk a little bit about DEI or diversity, equity and inclusion because there is this kind of major political movement and moment that is really attacking these kinds of conversations, this kind of learning is really saying that we don't need this, that we don't need affirmative action, that we are in a post-racial society, that gender equality is not a real thing. How do you all navigate that conversation or any kind of pushback that you all hear around what it means to have a racial justice summit, what it means to be engaged in racial justice work at a time when our legislature is trying to defund public colleges who prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion, which just seems really absurd to me personally. So Manjay, I'm gonna ask you, how does DEI and the climate around diversity, equity and inclusion factor into your approach to this work? - Who, again, the loaded questions are always falling over here. - I'm gonna spread them out, I'm sorry you're getting the hard questions. - No, it's good. I'm gonna be very mindful of my voice and my words, 'cause I'll tell you how un-candid I can get with certain things and my loving self, the love that I always want to lead with is, if you can say those words, then you have no idea of the world you actually live in. If you think that we don't need to have moments to talk about race or all the multiple forms of injustice and injustices that many of us face, then you might need to actually be in more of those spaces and see what we're talking about, because I've been black my entire life, baby. And the generational trauma that I hold in my body, the cultural trauma that I hold in my body, it's gonna be there forever. And we are undoing work that has been done to us for a very, very long time. So for me, when I hear those words, it just gives me more feel to keep doing. That's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. If that is what's being said, if you are saying no to it, then you are the exact reason why I need to keep doing it, because you're missing the point. - I just wanna compliment how demure that answer was, how cute you kept that, how sweet and loving, you were like, yo, if you are against diversity, equity, and inclusion, we love you and you are invited. Not always the response, right? Because it does feel like an attack on your values, on your existence, right? Like as a person who's also been black my entire life, I think there is something profoundly hurtful and damaging about the conversations we're having in this moment. And maybe from a very naive place within myself that just thinks, oh, it's crazy that we're still talking about whether or not we should be talking about it versus confronting these dynamics. I'm curious, you know, my seat for you in your role in cultivating this space and creating this conference. Is there, you know, is there a sense of like, the people who most need to be in this space would never consider coming. I think about, you know, what does it look like to try to confront the perpetrators of bigotry or the people who really are subscribing to hatred based in identity? What does it take to bring those people into the fold and support folks who are really opposed to the work that you're doing? How do you support the learning of communities who think there shouldn't be a racial justice summit? - You know, I think a hard question because I think if we've had it figured out, we would be doing that, right? You know, I think that there is, there are gonna be those people who need to be here, right, need to engage in this work that don't want to be there, will not be there, will continue to, you know, say harmful things about DEI, work, social justice, work, liberation work. And what I have to say to that is, all right, then we continue preaching to the choir and we continue to invest in ourselves, our own healing, our relationships because I believe that that is what is the transformative power that, you know, that can create change. Even if we can't get, you know, folks who will never be a want to be in the room there in that room, if we value, when we value those who do show up it has an impact because then they can go into their communities, leverage their relationships, their histories and their connections to bring people in. So, yeah, I mean, it's a tricky question, I don't know. And I guess that's also why we have the summit, right? If people have great ideas on how we do this, then like, let us know, come through, let's talk about it 'cause that's how we can start. - I so appreciate that answer. And also just kind of the humility in being like, yo, if I knew how to like get the KKK in the room to do this, learning to do this work, to reconsider their stance, I'd be doing that. But that is really, really complex work and there's a lot of depth to like, who needs to be there and why? I would say everybody needs to be there, we all have to confront what we've internalized. But there are some major players in these dynamics who show up in this space or don't show up in this space in specific ways. I'm gonna turn over to our listener who called in with a question. You are not on the line, but you said first world privilege and you've heard of first world privilege and you're wondering if our place globally will be discussed at the summit. You also would like to know how you all think of first world privilege specifically when it comes to climate change. I love that question. I think there's so much there and I think that language is really, really complicated in terms of, you know, like first world is a term that I'm deeply familiar with and also really struggle with. I'm gonna turn that over to you Libby. What do you think about that question? - Yeah, I mean, I think that the, to be honest, I think that most of what we have shaped for the summit for this year has a tendency to have a scope that's a little bit closer in, either regionally or nationally, but we also, so that's a growth edge and like we're also pretty committed to being able to continue to like put place, the experiences and practices that we hope to be able to change in its broader context internationally because let's face it, like every single thing that we're addressing across all of those justice movements that I was talking about earlier are also having a global impact, including climate justice. I think that there is a session that will be offered by a local, some local practitioners, that's actually addressing climate anxiety. I think that that's a big part of what happens within the world of like, I think part of what I hear in your question is that you're speaking to the context of the, like some of the emotions that come up for those of us that feel, that are potentially maybe even aware of the extent to which we are disproportionately responsible for climate collapse. And so what does that, like, what does that mean for how do we hold that? How does that change our responsibility for it? And so that is actually a session that's going to be being facilitated by two local practitioners that are connected to the LOCA initiative to like have that be a starting place. And like, can we actually confront the full extent of the emotions and body sensations that are actually related to how we as beings knowing that we have impact in the face of this are showing up. And how does that impact how we can actually make change to save ourselves as a species? - I mean, I think talking about climate change and who's impacted and how they're impacted is one of the most important conversations we can have in terms of racial justice and the long-term reality of what climate change looks like and has looked like and who is being impacted and what that means for our policy. So Monday, I wanna ask you, you know, in thinking about this conference, I can't imagine how much work you all put into this. And I know that you all do it from a space of love and collaboration. And at the same point, as a person who has worked in non-for-profits for the last like decade of my life, there's often kind of a real like push to pull something like this off in a way that is profound and beautiful and elevates everyone. And that takes a team that works well together and honors each other as human beings. And it also takes like just a reality of a few 12 to 15 hour days, especially going into that week. So my question for you is, how does your team recover from the summit? What is the self-care practices that you all embrace to kind of take a step back after you've done this work and honor what it took from you all to pull it off and also make a little space for yourselves to now get a little bit of sleep? - Oh, I'm gonna pause and actually show you all what we do together. After the summit, the summit in itself, right? And I think that's why we have been able to sustain the summit as long as we have because we are so intentional around the design and make up the build, the space and the timeline. And throughout this entire process, we never lose sight of our practice to connect, to not just our minds, what's our bodies and our hearts. So there are moments where you will see us together, taking a collective pause and a collective breath, right? Grounding together, I think after the summit, something that's so beautiful is we actually do give ourselves spaces to kind of slowly roll into the next week, right? Right, we actually kind of like stop everything, those emails, you get them next week, right? Let's see, after September 27th, you was in for months, October 3rd or October 5th. But right now, we take those moments and we check something to about, we have our own individual self-care practices, but we also have our collective care practices. And I think for what we do in the emotional work that goes into this, we come together collectively and constantly check in on each other, whether it's, "Hey, I'm going here, you need a coffee," or, "Hey, I'm making bracelets, I'm gonna bring you a care package." Like, we have a collective practice in an agreement to constantly, tend important to each other. Even though we all running on films, (laughs) we still are finding ways to be like, did you eat, did you go to the bathroom? Did you stop, did you go for your walk? Did you call what you need to call and check in? Like, we make sure to prioritize that because we know that doing this work in a state of burnout, in a state of fatigue, being completely disconnected from your entire self, your entire being, you cause more harm, and you cause more damage. And so, because we lead with that love, and that's why I have to lead with love, that is how we are able to sustain this very, as Livy will call our summit. This is bestie moment, but it's a good thing. It's a laborist process, and the only way we survive it is because we prioritize our collective care in healing. - That response made me wanna cry, and I knew I would cry interviewing you all, in part because, Livy, there is no person I have ever cried more with randomly, like at a grocery store in a parking lot than you. Like, literally, I know when I see you, that like, I will probably just be like, deeply moved and like sobbing, and like, I've run towards it every chance I get. - Yes! - But I think there's something so deeply healing about hearing like, in a workplace, 'cause this is your jobs, and this is how you all pay your bills, that you all show up for each other from a space of care and compassion, and recognizing the weight of this work, which I think is so rare in so many of the jobs that require this kind of emotional labor, and is so deeply inspiring and appreciated. - I asked a question about kind of the major players in this space, and I asked that question about kind of groups that maybe you're not gonna show up for this conference. I wanna ask that same question about groups that are going to show up. You all attract some of the most influential leaders in Madison, and it is no secret that Madison has some of the most disproportionate outcomes when it comes to incarceration and education for black and brown people, not in the state, but in the country. And so when you see somebody like our sheriff or our mayor or our county clerk walk into this space and participate and love the conversation, and then walk out into a community where racialized disparities define who we are, to find our access to opportunities from the day we are born to the day we die. How do you all confront that dynamic? How do you say, oh, it's so great that you wanna be here in this workshop and you have these beautiful insights, but how does that matter? If we still live in a community where that same office is more likely to put a black child in jail than help that black child get to college. And I'm gonna aim that at you, my scene. - Ooh, I'll leave these questions. (laughing) I wish you were moderating the presidential debate. I just have to put that in there. - You know, that's a little plug for work. We would love to have both candidates. We would really, like, we would love to have that conversation. I can ask nice questions. But I do, I wanna say, like, I've been to this summit. I've seen, you know, the audience that's attracted and I have, you know, I've had my own kind of physical reaction to seeing somebody that I consider to be a perpetrator of systematized racial harm show up in that space exuberantly and then know, hey, tomorrow, the Dane County Juvenile Detention Center is gonna be just as black as it is today. - Yeah. You know, I think that this work stands beyond the summit and is something that we, as a team, are planful of being very intentional about. I think it's easy for people to show up for the three days, right, and then go back and do the same old, same old that has been done. And here at the Y, we have a very plan. We want to be able to offer learning experiences, unlearning experiences beyond the summit through our critical connections campaign that we hope to grow. We, you know, something that, and this is something that is just starting to come together, but we hope to extend the learning beyond the days of the summit throughout the year so that the summit isn't just about one time of the year where YWC and Madison comes out and offers these experiences to be in community together we want to be very intentional about how we build movement. And we are, we see a beautiful addition of YWC and Madison being the organization that is a bridge builder between our nonprofits here, especially the South Side, our community, and then our leaders. But that takes intentional community building. You know, it oftentimes, like for instance, we think about the work that we do and as just being like, as being that community just like happens somehow, right? But no, it takes a lot of trust and relationship building. It takes alignment of values. And that's gonna require a lot more of us, but something that we are very dedicated to as a team and something that the community can look forward to. - I really appreciate kind of the local focus of the work you do and your ability to bring in people who have a lot of responsibility in this community, a lot of influence in this community and invite them to the table to have this conversation. And then I think there's complexity in kind of the outcomes that are promoted through that work. Libby, this is an annual event and I'm sure there are folks who are out there who are like, oh no, I'm just hearing about this and I really want to go. If you are not gonna make it to 2024, how do you make sure you make it to 2025, the Racial Justice Summit here in Madison, Wisconsin? - Yeah, that's a very good question 'cause it is next week also. (laughs) You can still come virtually. We have a ticket that's open for just the, you know, only. But I think if you're not already on our listserv, like for like go to YwCAMadison.org and make sure that you're signed up for notifications from us 'cause we send out a lot of emails in the lead up to this to be like, hey, registration's open. Hey, it's gonna be happening. So ensure that you're on our list 'cause we will be sending out. Honestly, y'all, next year is already in many ways set. Like Rodenwell Kimerer is gonna be opening. (laughs) It's gonna be, so September 24th, we're like one day earlier. It's gonna be the same day. It's the 24th through the 26th next year. So you can mark it on your calendar right now if you want to. - Yeah, just enter that in your phone. You know what you're doing. September 24th, 2025, you are going to Madison's Racial Justice Summit. - That's right. Yes, it is, it is gonna be awesome. Like literally we already have like big plans. Like we have, it's gonna be, we always build on, we are always adding layers to the experience. You're gonna wanna be there. But definitely get on our list serve, make sure that you're signed up for notifications from YWCA Madison so that we can keep you informed and save the dates. - I struggle with how you have conversations like this in a way that emphasizes both the realities of oppression and the realities of privilege. For folks who sit at the intersection of privilege, how do their identities come up in these conversations? How do you confront privilege and oppression simultaneously Libby in 30 seconds? And you're muted. So now, 23 seconds. - Oh, shoot, great. Again, that goes back to I think for, so as a white person on this team, I do think that that like a part of what I hope for is that white attendees at the summit come away with a lot of clarity about what kinds of actions will be involved in the year to come for them, for what it means for them to actually show up different. Try on a new shape. Try on a different way of showing up and actually attend to like, what do you like when you know you're messing up? What's going on for you there? It's something that I try to practice every day. I'm not perfect, but it's like, we do hope that specifically white attendees can be invited into real action also, to show up for multiracial solidarity. - Thank you so much for that answer. I could not like love this summit anymore or the team that brings it together. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to have this conversation with you for all the work that you're doing across our community. I am wishing you all so much rest and care after next week, but I am thrilled that you all are gonna create a space that is loving and joyful and celebrates the diversity of our community while confronting real issues. - Thank you to everybody who tuned in today. This is W-O-R-T, 89.9 FM. I'm your host, Ali Maldro. This is a public affair. I'll see y'all next Wednesday. Oh, if you wanna meet me at this summit, I will be there hosting a session. So if you know my voice, but have never realized how short I am, you're gonna get a chance to experience that in person. I'll see you there. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)