More than 500 Black feminists will convene in New Orleans June 5-7 for what organizers are calling the largest Black feminist gathering in the United States.
The event, led by Black Feminist Future, is headlined by activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis.
Paris Hatcher, executive director of Black Feminist Future, joined Black Press USA’s “Let It Be Known” to outline the mission and urgency behind the gathering, titled “Get Free.”
“This is not just a conference to dress up and have a good time,” Hatcher said. “We’re building power to address the conditions that are putting our lives at risk — whether that’s policing, reproductive injustice, or economic inequality.”
Hatcher pointed to issues such as rising evictions among Black families, the rollback of bodily autonomy laws, and the high cost of living as key drivers of the event’s agenda.
She also emphasized the dire need to combat disparities.
“Our communities are facing premature death,” she said.
Workshops and plenaries will focus on direct action, policy advocacy, and practical organizing skills. Attendees will participate in training sessions that include how to resist evictions, organize around immigration enforcement, and disrupt systemic policies contributing to poverty and incarceration.
“This is about fighting back,” Hatcher said. “We’re not conceding anything.”
Black Feminism: ‘A Rejection of Patriarchy’
The Black feminism fight has been long and hard, with generations of brave freedom fighters such as Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells and Davis, unapologetically working toward change.
“Black feminism is an intellectual, artistic, philosophical, and activist practice grounded in Black women’s lived experiences,” according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). “Its scope is broad, making it difficult to define.
Davis, the event’s headliner, has a long reputation for uplifting Black feminism after not feeling welcomed as a Black woman in the general feminism movement.
“Even when I myself refused to identify with feminism, I realized that it was a certain kind of feminism,” Davis said in 2019 at NMAAHC Oral History Interview. “It was a feminism of those women who weren’t really concerned with equality for all women.”
Hatcher addressed the persistent misconceptions about Black feminism, including the idea that it is a movement against men or families.
“Black feminism is not a rejection of men,” she said. “It’s a rejection of patriarchy. Black men must be part of this struggle because patriarchy harms them too.”
She also responded to claims that organizing around Black women’s issues weakens broader coalitions.
“We don’t live single-issue lives,” Hatcher said. “Our blueprint is one that lifts all Black people.”
The conference will not be streamed virtually, but recaps and updates will be posted daily on Black Feminist Future’s YouTube channel and Instagram account.
The event includes performances by Tank and the Bangas and honors longtime activists including Billy Avery, Erica Huggins and Alexis Pauline Gumbs.
When asked how Black feminism helps families, Hatcher said the real threat to family stability is systemic oppression.
“If we want to talk about strong Black families, we have to talk about mass incarceration, the income gap, and the systems that tear our families apart,” Hatcher said. “Black feminism gives us the tools to build and sustain healthy families — not just survive but thrive.”
