From Building Power through Bold Leadership and Rooted in Legacy, Owning Our Future to Deep Rest for Resistance, our 20th anniversary event series has shown that we’re not waiting for broken systems to change—we’re creating new ones, together.
Whether you attended our past events live or watched the recordings, we hope you’ll join us for our final 20th celebration, highlighting the transformational power of our Open Road Fund. Save the date for Walking the Path to Liberation on Thursday, Nov. 13, 10 am – 12 pm CT on Zoom.
With relentless attacks on Black life and well-being, initiatives run by and for Black folks to achieve Black liberation are essential. Since its launch in 2023, the Open Road Fund has distributed $50,000 gifts to 199 Black people in our region, with 101 more gifts being disbursed this winter. That’s $15 million and counting to help repair the harms of slavery, redlining, economic exploitation, and anti-Black violence in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Through the Open Road Fund, we seek restoration. We seek freedom. We seek access to land and resources to build new institutions. We seek to enrich the next generations to come through us. We seek the peace of mind to determine what quality of life we deserve, what tools we will use, and how to attain them all.
Join us to celebrate how this work is creating tangible pathways to liberation, prosperity, and healing—on our own terms. Fill out the form below to register!
Meet Our Speakers
Tish Jones
Tish Jones is a poet, emcee, hip hop theater artist, and founder of TruArtSpeaks, an arts and culture organization in St. Paul. She has exhibited her work throughout the United States, and abroad, as a public performance artist for over two decades. Her writing can be found in We Are Meant to Rise (University of Minnesota Press), A Moment of Silence (Tru Ruts and The Playwrights Center), the Minnesota Humanities Center’s anthology Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society Press), and more.
MeMe Simpson
Born in Mankato, MN, as the second oldest of seven children, MeMe works as a product ambassador, with a passion for charity and community work. MeMe is the newest vice president of the St. Peter Good Neighbor Diversity Council, which allowed her to put on the first Juneteenth celebration in her city. She shares, “I wouldn’t be part of that organization if it wasn’t for me receiving the Open Road gift, helping me elevate myself and what I believe in.”