Sherrilyn Ifill, Sarah Lewis, Darren Walker, Deborah Archer, Ava DuVernay, Dr. Carla Hayden, Nikole Hannah-Jones, John Legend, Amy Sherald, Bryan Stevenson, Carrie Mae Weems
Sherrilyn Ifill, Sarah Lewis, Darren Walker, Deborah Archer, Ava DuVernay, Dr. Carla Hayden, Nikole Hannah-Jones, John Legend, Amy Sherald, Bryan Stevenson, Carrie Mae Weems
October 6 & 7, 2025
Ford Foundation, New York
The second edition of the landmark Vision & Justice Convening
Co-hosted by Vision & Justice and the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy
Co-organized by Sarah Lewis and Sherrilyn Ifill
Vision & Justice Now: The Challenge and Promises of American Democracy takes inspiration from Frederick Douglass’s Civil War speech “Pictures and Progress” about the transformative power of art and culture to inform and inspire dynamic new visions of democracy for our nation. Building on the 2019 Vision & Justice Convening at Harvard, organized by Sarah Lewis, which grappled with topics such as citizenship, algorithmic bias, and mass incarceration, and from the work of Sherrilyn Ifill, whose fellowship at the Museum of Modern Art, and creation of the 14th Amendment Center at Howard Law School explores the role of artists in reimagining democracy, the 2025 edition is designed as a platform to salute the visionaries working toward new approaches, ideas, and methods, and whose work supports a vision for dynamic collaboration that can meet the urgency of this time. We seek to celebrate and explore artistic and democratic work and thinking that sits squarely at the intersection of art and justice. From maps and monuments, to the meaning of citizenship and belonging, the democratic imagination and more, together we’ll engage over two days of presentations, conversations, and performances.
FEATURED PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE
Deborah Archer
Firelei Baez
Uché Blackstock
Charles Blow
Mark Bradford
Jelani Cobb
Chelsea Clinton
Kimberlé Crenshaw
Ava DuVernay
Paul Farber
LaToya Ruby Frazier
Theaster Gates
Lee Gelernt
Dr. Mona Hanna
Nikole Hannah-Jones
Dr. Carla Hayden
Peter Kunhardt
Sarah Lewis
John Legend
Audra McDonald
Tyler Mitchell
Leigh Raiford
Yara Shahidi
Amy Sherald
Coreen Simpson
Bryan Stevenson
Hank Willis Thomas
Darren Walker
Carrie Mae Weems
Deborah Willis
Additional speakers and program information coming soon.