Community Research for Liberation National Convening
June 11-12, 2026 ~ Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, MN
Register now!
Across the nation, community members use research to tell their stories and ignite change. But community research efforts are often overshadowed or displaced by institutional research processes that are frequently inaccessible, extractive, or disconnected from the people most impacted by injustice.
On June 11-12, 2026, Research in Action (RIA) and the Equity in Action Way (EAW) Foundation will host the inaugural Community Research for Liberation National Convening in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a theme of “Building a New Table with Black Women, Girls and Femmes.”
Register now!
While we will center the expertise and healing of Black women, girls and femmes, this event is an invitation to community members of all ages, educators and academics, non-profit staff and organizers, front-line public service workers and philanthropic leaders of ALL racial backgrounds to gain tools and training in liberatory research design, healing-centered engagement, and accountable partnerships across community and institutional settings.
On June 12, we’ll also celebrate “Advancing Equity in Action: An Evening of Art and Activation to Resource Community-Led Research,” the first inaugural Equity in Action Way Fundraiser to resource our work to advance community-led research.
Join us on June 12 for a dynamic fundraiser and art auction to resource the work of the Equity in Action Way Foundation! Learn more and get tickets!
Agenda
All events and sessions will take place at Westminster Presbyterian Church, located at 1200 S Marquette Avenue in Minneapolis. See FAQs for more information about parking and accessibility.
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5-9pm: Opening Night
Join us for an intentional and grounding experience designed to meet participants where they are—creating the clarity, connection, and grounding needed to step into Friday’s work with purpose and intention.
“Collective Healing: A Sacred Space to Reflect and Connect” for Black women, girls, and femmes
“From Fragility to Collective Liberation: Unlearning and reimagining how to build new tables with Black women, girls, and femmes” for accomplices
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10am - 6pm: Convening
10:00am: Public release of the results from the Justice for Institutions for Black Women, Girls and Femmes Statewide Survey, followed by a live Q&A and guided reflection to help participants identify how they can turn insight into action
12:00pm: Lunch
1:15pm: Concurrent sessions featuring leaders from across the country offering real-world insights into advancing community-engaged research and how communities are driving healing, transformation, and change
3:45pm: Keynote address featuring Dr. Monique Liston of Ubuntu Research and Evaluation, sharing critical lessons from her work leading engaged research with Black women, girls, and femmes
4:15pm: Panel of Black women CEOs, who will speak candidly about why they founded their organizations and what it will take to expand and resource this work moving forward
5:00pm: Reception featuring light music, refreshments, and time to connect, reflect, and build community
6pm - 9 pm:
Advancing Equity in Action: An Evening of Art and Activation to Resource Community-Led Research (separate ticket required)Research in Action, in partnership with the Equity in Action Way Foundation, invites you to an unforgettable evening celebrating the power of community-led research. Come celebrate, connect, and invest in a future where community knowledge drives real change. Learn more here.
Attendees
For this year's theme, we are especially invested in ensuring a critical mass of Black women, girls, and femmes across generations and sectors have an opportunity for connection, validation, and support.
AND to create lasting change, we need to build a new table with impacted communities at the center and diverse stakeholders committed to action. We invite community members of all ages, educators and academics, non-profit staff and organizers, front-line public service workers and philanthropic leaders of ALL racial backgrounds to join us.
Content
The convening will honor community wisdom, connect local and regional struggles, and model research as a practice of justice and healing.
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This year, the proceedings will include the public release of the Justice in Institutions for Black Women, Girls, and Femmes survey findings — the first statewide survey in the nation to examine how Black women, girls, and femmes across different geographies experience institutions like healthcare, housing, criminal justice, and education.
It will also explore how RIA and partners are working with response participants to help calculate a score for each institution, revealing levels of trust, stress, and support Black women, girls, and femmes experience within different institutions. These scores will become a part of a statewide tool that highlights where institutions are doing well — and where change is urgently needed — to better serve Black women, girls, and femmes. We are partnering with county leaders to pilot how they can use the tool to improve programs and services.
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We will host a space that:
Elevates powerful examples of community-driven and participatory action research that have advanced policy change, resource redistribution, or narrative shift.
Provides tools and training in liberatory research design, healing-centered engagement, and accountable partnerships across community and institutional settings.
Creates space for learning, connection, and co-creation across sectors and geographies, with impacted community members at the center.
Inspires attendees to move from theory to action by highlighting community-based practices already working in the Twin Cities and similar cities across the nation.
Keynote
What happens when Black identity is loved, protected, and defended as we collectively learn about process and change in organizations and programs?
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What happens when Black identity—particularly the lives of Black women, girls, and femmes—is loved, protected, and defended as we collectively learn about process and change in organizations and programs? This is the question Dr. Monique Liston has built a community-engaged, intellectual, and regenerative life practice around.
She is the Founder, Chief Strategist, and Joyful Militant of UBUNTU Research and Evaluation, an undisciplined learning organization and recipient of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Diversity in Business Award. She also serves as Executive Director of The Leadership Undercommons, advancing dignity-centered learning and leadership rooted in the lived realities of Black women, girls, and femmes.
A sought-after facilitator, speaker, evaluator, collaborator, and good-time haver, Dr. Liston went to school for many years and is most proud to be an alum of Howard University. Her honors include 2025 Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40, Public Allies’ first and only honorary alum, and HBCU Alumni United Milwaukee Alumni of the Year. Though not a self-identified poet, she published FRACTALS in 2025.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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McKnight Foundation
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Blue Cross MN Foundation
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Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation
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Women's Foundation of Minnesota
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Wilder
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African American Leadership Forum
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Addieun Foundation
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University of Minnesota - Office for Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement, and Equity
Support
the event
BECOME A SPONSOR
Download our sponsorship invitation and play a key role in making the event possible!
VOLUNTEER:
Fill out our interest form to volunteer at the event!
The 2026 convening is just the start of a longer journey.
Over time, we hope the convening will strengthen the field of community-based action research in our region. It will foster deeper trust and accountability among researchers, institutions, and communities. It will expand opportunities for participants to learn together, share lived experience, and hold one another accountable. It will also build cultural foundations for resilience, ensuring that research supports, rather than harms, communities.