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.