Join Diversity & Social Justice Education and the University YMCA for Friday Forum + Conversation Café!

We will hear from community leaders tackling our most pressing public concerns through an unwavering pursuit of social justice.
- When: Most Fridays
- Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
- Location: University YMCA, 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL.
Lunch provided at no cost to guests from the Y Thai Eatery.
Spring 2025 Speaker Lineup:
February 7: Inclusion for all of Society
Sean Garrick, Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at the University of Illinois
February 14: Democratic Erosion and Women's Political Power: Perspectives from Europe
Saskia Brechenmacher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
February 21: Bridging Differences to Build a "Beloved Community"
Allison Briscoe Smith, UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center
2025 Illinois Interfaith Conference Keynote Speaker
February 28: Breaking Chains, Building Communities: The Story of the AME Church
Rev. Terrance Thomas, Bethel AME Church, Champaign
March 7: Defending Immigrants under a Trump Administration: An Immigrant Advocate's Perspective
Diana Rashid, National Immigrant Justice Center
In conversation with current La Colectiva students
March 28: Plumas Negras by Juliette Carrillo
University of Illinois Department of Theater
April 4: To Thy Happy Children of the Future: Divestment as Progress
Students for Environmental Concerns
In conversation with Jim Hinterlong, University YMCA Executive Director
April 11: The Art of Recreating Transnational Solidarities Against Global Apartheids
Woman Life Freedom Collective and Humane Urbanisms Project
April 18: Stories From Her Work as a Tribal Attorney, Land Defender and Founder of the Giniw Collective
Tara Houska, Tribal Attorney and Founder of the Giniw Collective
Listen to the Spring 2025 audio recordings here:
Center for Advanced Study, Center for Global Studies, Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning, Channing Murray Foundation, College of ACES, Counseling Center, Department of Anthropology, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Education Justice Project, European Union Center, First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana, First Presbyterian (Champaign), Humanities Research Institute, International Education, League of Women Voters, Office of the Provost, School of Social Work, Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana-Champaign, Student Cultural Programming Fee, Urbana Champaign Friends Meeting, Urbana Champaign Reproductive Justice, the Women & Gender in Global Perspectives Program, and the Women's Resources Center
Past Calendars
Fall 2024
Click here for the Fall 2024 audio recordings!
September 13, 2024: Voting Rights and Democracy in 2024
Sean Morales-Doyle, Director of Voting Rights Program at the Brennan Center for Justice
September 20, 2024: Champaign County Welcoming Plan in Action
New American Welcome Center
September 27, 2024: Bridging the Partisan Divide
Braver Angels
October 4, 2024: Elections and Voting: 2024 and Beyond
Aaron Ammons, Champaign County Clerk
October 11, 2024: Democracy as a Way of Life
Harry Boyte, Civic Organizer and Theorist of public work framework for democracy and citizenship
Marie Ström, Director of Education and Training, Institute of Public Life and Work
October 18, 2024: Giving Voice to the Middle
Jeremy Hobson, Host, Creator, and Executive Producer of ‘The Middle’ Podcast
October 25, 2024: Understanding White Christian Nationalism - Discussion Panel on ‘Bad Faith’ film
Rev. Terrance Thomas, Bethel AME Church
Pr. Michael Crosby, First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana
November 1, 2024: The Supreme Court and Democracy
Steve Schwinn, University of Illinois Chicago
November 8, 2024: The Certainty Trap: Democracy’s Existential Threat
Ilana Redstone, University of Illinois Department of Sociology
November 15, 2024: Election 2024 on Campus and Across the Country
Provost John Coleman, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Spring 2023
Our Community in Action: Advancing Social Justice in Champaign-Urbana and Beyond
February 3, 2023: Stories From the Center: University Y Founders Day Event, Speakers Cassie Carroll, Mike Doyle, Becca Guyette, and John Jordan, Moderator: Scott Peters, Cornell University
February 10, 2023: Art, Healing, and Justice, Speakers: Lou Turner, Liza Sylvestre, and Christopher Jones, Moderator: Sam Smith, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
February 17, 2023: Envisioning Equity and Excellence in Public Schools, Speakers: Angela Ward, Amy Bloomberg, and Brandon Caffey, Moderator: Imani Bazzell, Center for Civic Engagement and Social Justice
February 24, 2023: The Importance of Interfaith in Jewish Tradition, Speaker: Rabbi Allyson Zacharoff, New York University
March 3, 2023: Risograph, Zines, and "Cheap" Art, Speaker: Will Arnold, Art @ the Y exhibition on view through 3/10
March 24, 2023: Building Anti Racist Immigrant Communities: reflections on arts mediated dialog projects, Speaker: Ken Salo, Urban & Regional Planning
March 31, 2023: In pursuit of intersectional equity beyond the walls of academia: Learning from the marginalized Sunni-Baluch women needleworkers in peri-urban Iran, Speaker: Atyeh Ashtari, Urban Planning PhD Candidate
April 14, 2023: Community Violence and Anti-Violence Efforts, Speakers: Rachel Garthe, School of Social Work and Jorge Elvir, City of Champaign, Moderator: Sam Smith, KCPA
April 21, 2023: Environmental Activism and Change on Campus and Beyond, Adelina Avalos, Jorge Corral, Stefan Iliev, Alyssa Prisby, Claire Sullivan, Sakshi Vaya, Moderator: Karel Pene Njine, Daniela Marin, Hannah Beck, Terra Salgado, Hanaa Khan
Fall 2022
Our Community in Action: Advancing Social Justice in Champaign-Urbana and Beyond
September 16, 2022: Welcoming Immigrants in Champaign County, Speaker Gloria Yen
September 23, 2022: AZUKI!! Manga as a Bridge Between Cultures, Speaker Kofi Bazzell-Smith
September 30, 2022: We are Here! Cultivating Belonging for our Queer Students of Color at Illinois, Speakers Dementro Powell & Carlton Cummings
October 7, 2022: I Go on Singing: Paul Robeson's Life in his Word and Song, Speaker Anthony Brown, accompanied by Philip De Luna
October 14, 2022: Faith and Race in Building Local Coalitions for Justice, Speakers Rev. Terrance Thomas & Rev. Michael Crosby
October 21 , 2022: Neighborhood Ambassadors Program, Speaker Jacqueline Kalipeni
October 28, 2022: Juvenile Justice in Champaign County: A Wicked Possibility, part 1, Speaker Sam Smith
November 4, 2022: Juvenile Justice in Champaign County: A Wicked Possibility, part 2, Speaker Sam Smith
November 11, 2022: Keep HOPE Alive! We Can Prevent Violence in Champaign County, Speaker Tracy Dace
Spring 2022
February 4, 2022: Art at the Y: Radical Printmaking, Speaker William Estrada
February 11, 2022: Afrofuturism as Social Justice, Speakers Stacey Robinson & Jason Finkelman
February 18, 2022: Building Community Through Re-entry, Speakers Marlon Mitchell and Crushion Stubbs
February 25, 2022: Faith, Race, Loss, and Radical Hope, Speaker Rev. Jennifer Bailey
March 4, 2022: Community Resistance to Gentrification in Chicago, Speakers Christian Mejia & Dr. Jacquelyn Lyon
March 25, 2022: Bad, Fat, Black Girl: An Afternoon with a Trap Feminist, Speaker Sesali Bowen
April 1, 2022: Champaign Racial Justice Task Force, Speakers Minnie Pearson & Dr. Thom Moore
April 8, 2022: In the Wake of Unit 4's Resolution Against Racism, Speakers Dr. Ken Salo, Dr. Angela Ward, Ms. Brenda Taylor
Fall 2021
September 17, 2021: Intersectioins of Racism and Migration, Speakers Susan Ogwal, Lauren Aronson, Michael H. Leroy and James R. Fujimoto
September 24, 2021: Education Justice Project: Prison-to Gown Initiative, Speaker Rebecca Ginsburg
October 1, 2021: Future Spaces in Community Places: Closing the Gap on Town and Gown, Speaker Stacey Robinson
October 8, 2021: Protect our Vote: The History of African American Voting, Speaker Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua
October 15, 2021: Trauma & Resilience Initiative, Inc., Speaker Karen Crawford Simms
October 22, 2021: Moving Upstream: An Anti-Racist Approact to Healthcare Education, Speaker Kaytlin Reedy-Rogier
October 29, 2021: Anti-Hate Training with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Speaker Catherine Shieh
November 5, 2021: How Oppression and Gender Based Violence are Linked: Why an Anti-Oppression Lens to Domestic and Sexual Violence is Necessary for an Inclusive Approach, Speakers Akua Forkuo-Sekyere, Elena Gonzalez & Women's Resources Center students
November 12, 2021: Shamar Betts Case: Unequal Justice in the Aftermath of George Floyd's Murder, Speakers Elisabeth R. Pollock, Savannah Donavan & Brian Dolinar