Justice & Joy National Collaborative Announces 2024 In Solidarity We Rise: Joyful Radical Abundance

Hundreds of young adults, activists, and adult allies convene to promote political engagement, movement-building, and intergenerational activism 

PORTLAND, Ore., April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Justice + Joy National Collaborative, a gender and racial justice nonprofit, announced In Solidarity We Rise (ISWR), a virtual intergenerational leadership and advocacy summit taking place May 2-4, 2024. Over 300 people have registered, with attendees from over 35 states, five tribal nations, and ages 11-82. More than half of the attendees and speakers are under 26.

Since 2017, ISWR has amplified the voices and unique experiences of girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color to heal, unite, and organize across generations for gender justice. Over three days, young adults, activists, policymakers, and philanthropic leaders will convene mentorship, cultural entertainment, and over 40 sessions, including workshops, panels, keynotes, and political organizing training for the 2024 elections. 

"This year's theme, Joyful Radical Abundance, speaks to the hardships they have experienced the past few years and their bold vision for the future," said Jeannette Pai-Espinosa, President of Justice + Joy National Collaborative. "They feel ignored and unheard. They're rightfully enraged about many current events. Our summit gives them safety and a community and will teach them how to turn their rage into action and build movements to create the world they want and deserve."

During ISWR, Justice + Joy will also debut insights from its forthcoming Fixing Democracy Project? a groundbreaking focus group study and civic engagement campaign for Gen Z girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color. Gen Z is poised to play a critical role in the 2024 elections as the largest and most diverse voting bloc in history. Despite young people's exceptional abilities to lead, mobilize, and influence their communities, they face systemic barriers to equity, autonomy, and freedom. In partnership with HIT Strategies and Lake Research Partners, two widely respected public opinion firms led by women and LBGTQ+ people of color, the democracy initiative will uncover their views on the democratic process, identify their concerns and policy priorities, and promote civic engagement by elevating the stories of system-impacted young people of color and those with adverse childhood experiences who often go overlooked in traditional polling, policy, and media coverage.

ISWR has drawn support from the advocacy, business, and philanthropic community, notably with $50,000+ investments from Grantmakers for Girls of Color, Ms. Foundation for Women, Vera Institute of Justice, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Special Contributions Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation.

The full list of workshops and ticket information can be found here.

About Justice + Joy National Collaborative
Justice and Joy National Collaborative (Justice + Joy) is an intergenerational, gender, and racial justice advocacy and organizing nonprofit advancing social, economic, and political equity with and for girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color. Our goals are to achieve collective power to advance justice, establish affirming social narratives, and build ecosystems of support. We envision a world where all girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color can achieve their potential and live unapologetically joyful lives without fear of violence or injustice. www.justiceandjoynatl.org.

Grantmakers for Girls of Color
Fiscally sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC) works to mobilize resources and amplify transformative organizing work to dismantle systems of oppression led by girls and gender-expansive youth of color. Grantmakers for Girls of Color openly invites partners and stakeholders to co-create an inclusive space in support of girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth of color across programmatic issues and geographic areas. Learn more by visiting GrantmakersforGirlsofColor.org.

Ms. Foundation for Women
For 50 years, the Ms. Foundation for Women has shaped women's philanthropy in the United States, providing a blueprint for the establishment of hundreds of local and regional women's funds, influencing mainstream culture through nationwide projects such as Take Our Daughters to Work Day, and making grants totaling over $90 million to more than 1,600 grassroots organizations across the country. Through research, advocacy, and grantmaking, the Ms. Foundation is the national model for sustainable, trust-based philanthropic support of women of color-led movements. With equity and inclusion as the cornerstones of true democracy, the Ms. Foundation works to create a world in which the worth and dignity of every person are valued, and power and possibility are not limited by gender, race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age. www.forwomen.org

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Special Contributions Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
The Princeton Area Community Foundation is the philanthropic nexus of central New Jersey. They are committed to helping our region and its residents ? and especially its children ? thrive. As a robust foundation with more than $240 million in assets, Princeton Area Community Foundation helps individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create permanent charitable funds to meet the challenges of changing times. As a community leader, they invest and administer these funds, award grants and scholarships, promote philanthropy, and encourage meaningful collaboration, all under the direction of a knowledgeable team. www.pacf.org.

Vera Institute of Justice
About the Vera Institute of Justice: The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they're fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn't determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera's headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.

SOURCE Justice + Joy National Collaborative