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During Spring 2022, Senior Fellow Aisha Fukushima was invited to give three keynote speeches at various schools across the United States promoting ideas of diversity and inclusion.
19th Annual Practical Activism Conference
Aisha was invited to join the University of California Santa Cruz for their 19th annual Practical Activism conference as a keynote speaker in February 2022.
The Practical Activism Conference is an annual, day-long, student-led conference which aims to further local and global change in their community through representing diverse perspectives on a variety of social justice issues, as well as providing hands on tools to make practical change.
Aisha aspires to plant seeds of peacemaking and to speak up against militarism, economic inequality, & racism through her keynote speeches.
This year, the Practical Activism Conference curated a selection of workshops covering current issues such as:
- BIPOC Mental Health & Wellness: Accountability and Forgiveness
- Critical Race Theory, Voting for Tomorrow
- Worker Exploitation in Fast Fashion
- Homelessness & Housing Justice
- Indigenous Land Stewardship
- Stem 4 Social Justice
In addition to the workshops the conference hosted special sessions bringing awareness to African American Vernacular English, Queer Ecology, Non-Violent Communication as well as the Cost of Living in Santa Cruz.
As the Keynote Speaker during the opening session, Aisha’s performance speech focused on healing, freedom songs, story telling and opportunities to help listeners tap into their collective power as a community of change-makers.
To see Aisha’s instagram post on her keynote speech at the Practical Activism Conference, click here.
Proctor Academy
In March 2022, Aisha gave a speech at Proctor Academy, a boarding school located in Andover, New Hampshire. In her speech, she reflected on the life and legacy of MLK and encouraged others to think about the conflict that we’re experiencing around the world today.
Aisha quotes the following from MLK “A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war- ‘This way of settling differences is not just.’ This way […] cannot be reconciled with wisdom, #justice and #love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
As a cultural strategist and global citizen, Aisha Fukushima’s speech reflecting on MLK was inspired by her desire to connect and build intergenerational change-making spaces based on love and peace.
To see Aisha’s instagram post on her keynote speech at Proctor Academy, please see here.
2022 Diversity Summit
Aisha was invited to give a keynote speech at Catlin Gabel, a progressive independent school based in Portland, Oregon. Catlin Gabel hosts a Diversity Summit annually as part of their affinity groups which provide opportunities for conversations about inclusion and diversity.
The 2022 Diversity Summit, titled Cultural Intersections: Honoring Our Lived Experiences, was a two-day inclusion conference held in April 2022. The summit invites students from schools across Portland to participate in workshops and listen to keynote speakers, such as Aisha. The summit focused on cultural intersections, teaching students that diversity goes beyond race and exists at the intersections of identity.
To see Aisha’s instagram post on her keynote speech at the 2022 Diversity Summit, please see here.
Get in touch
- For more information on Aisha’s work, visit her website.
- Those interested in building a collaboration with Aisha can visit this booking page.
- To stay updated on Aisha’s endeavors, follow her Instagram page.
