Freedom Rising: Dismantling Fascism with Fierce Love

Our 18th annual conference returns! This year’s theme is centered around reclaiming Christianity from the way it’s being misused to serve fascist politics, to give participants the tools to build a movement for liberation.

Click here for a full schedule, speakers, and to get your ticket! Use the code RISING for a lovely discount.

Conference Overview:

Day One: April 28 — Uprooting Christian Fascism’s Lie

The undemocratic takeover of our judicial system is just the tip of a movement that seeks to force a pluralistic country to conform to fundamentalist Christianity. It’s also based on fundamental lies: We live in abundance, not scarcity. People deserve autonomy over whether they create new life. The Earth is not a limitless resource for us to plunder. And we do not have to live by the vision of founders who named Indigenous siblings “savages,” treated women as property and legislated Black folks as ⅗ of a person.

Day Two: Liberating Y0ur Story

Living within these damaging systems confines our moral imaginations. On the second day, we’ll hear from folks who help us dream more expansively about what we deserve. We’ll examine the ways that stories about race, class, gender and sexuality have conditioned us, and help each other write different stories—ones grounded in the love and freedom we’re meant to enjoy. We’ll explore the centrality of rest and joy in activism, and how to cultivate community.

Day Three: The Politics of Ubuntu

The ancient wisdom of Ubuntu teaches us an essential truth: We become a person through other people. Or, as Dr. King would express it, all of us are “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,” our destinies intertwined. What would a politics look like that honors these truths? How would it change the way we think about borders? The existence of policing? Our voting laws? On this day, we’ll host subject experts across a wide array of topics to help you dream about policy solutions that help all people flourish.