Guests shared photographs of their ancestors/loved ones for an ancestral altar. The altar was used as a cross-tradition and cross-faith space to honor all of those who have come before us and as a place to ground the collective work done at the conference.
BUILDING POWER AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACY CONFERENCE Building Power was a Black-led conference based around countering white supremacy through community organizing and direct action. Organized by social work students, the conference brought together U-M students and community members from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit. Attendees learned about local associations and strategies for fighting white supremacy through community coordination. Breakout sessions included Disability Justice, Inter-generational Organizing, Organizing After Graduation and Supporting Immigrants in Our Communities. Adrienne Maree Brown, an American author, women’s rights activist and Black feminist, was the keynote speaker.
36 · University of Michigan School of Social Work
“The purpose of this conference was to center community knowledge in the fight against white supremacy. This fight will not be effective without challenging ourselves to explore our own internalization of anti-Blackness and white supremacy, no matter our race or ethnicity. Transformative self-work is necessary before any of us presents ourselves as crusaders for racial justice. This work must be both consistent and persistent. The society in which we currently live in is antiBlack, anti-fem, anti-anything that deviates from the white cis-het man and his desires. Therefore, it is crucial to be mindful of these truths — and in complete opposition of them if we truly seek transformative change and a society that is equitable for all,” said Dominique Crump, a member of the 2019 steering committee.
