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Convening

Vision & Justice Now: The Challenge and Promises of American Democracy

An event co-hosted by Vision & Justice and the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy, and co-organized by Sarah Lewis and Sherrilyn Ifill.

Carrie Mae Weems (center), Sherrilyn Ifill, and Dr. Sarah Lewis reflect on how art challenges structures of power and truth at the Vision & Justice Now convening at the Ford Foundation on October 6, 2025. Image by Simon Luethi.

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.

Watch and view images of all the panels, performances, and reflections from Vision & Justice Now here:

Day 1: October 6, 2025

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Selected Images from ‘Vision & Justice Now: The Challenge and Promises of American Democracy’

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Sherrilyn Ifill and Sarah Lewis share a moment on stage at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, speaks at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Amy Sherald in conversation with Sarah Lewis at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Tenzin Gund-Morrow offers a tribute to his grandmother, Agnes “Aggie” Gund, at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Carrie Mae Weems speaks at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Florian Koenigsberger speaks at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Ava DuVernay in conversation with Sarah Lewis and Sherrilyn Ifill at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Yara Shahidi in conversation with Lee Gelernt, John Legend, Dr. Salahmishah Tillet and Summer Durant at Vision & Justice Now. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Summer Durant of Howard Law School speaking at Vision & Justice Now in October 2025. (Image by Simon Luethi.)

Image by Simon Luethi.

Day 2: October 7, 2025

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To learn more about the speakers and read their biographies, click here.

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