Schedule and Program Updates for “State of the People National Assembly” in Baltimore June 19-21, 2025,  Includes Special Partnership with Children’s Defense Fund

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2025 

MEDIA CONTACTS

National: comms@stateoftheppl.com

Local: Zy Richardson | zy@zymediagroup.com 

Schedule and Program Updates for “State of the People National Assembly” in Baltimore June 19-21, 2025,  Includes Special Partnership with Children’s Defense Fund

Participants Include: Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott, Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Rev. Mark Thompson, Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, Angela Rye, Joy Reid, Marilyn Mosby, Derrick Johnson, Bishop Leah Daughtry, Rev. Dr. Robert Turner, Ilyasah Shabazz, Minyon Moore, Maya Wiley, Tamika Mallory, Ben Crump, Larry Hamm, Acre Boyzz, Maimouna Youssef and many more 

BALTIMORE, MD — June 17, 2025 — This week the “State of the People National Assembly” brings together hundreds of Black leaders, organizers, artists, elders, and youth from across the country for a historic Juneteenth convening to celebrate and unify, strategize and launch the next era of collective Black power, healing, and action. Plenary conversations will examine a range of issues impacting Black communities discussed in the Black Papers Policy Project, a bold blueprint for action developed through collaboration with more than a hundred leading Black scholars, organizers, and policy experts. A living cultural and political agenda for Black America, the Black Papers informs our organizing, policy, and collective advocacy.  Actionable tools for advocacy and liberation will be shared through a series of workshops and delegate training will prepare our communities for the 2026 International Assembly.  Grounded in the spirit of the 1972 Gary National Black Political Convention and other historic national convenings, the Assembly is a declaration: We are defining our agenda, naming our solutions, and committing to collective action for future generations. 

A truly intergenerational gathering, we are thrilled to announce that a special partnership with the Children’s Defense Fund will bring the CDF Freedom Schools® Program to Baltimore for a special Juneteenth session during our Assembly, June 19-21. The Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools® program has been empowering children and families for over 25 years through culturally relevant education that builds leadership skills and critical thinking. This special Juneteenth session brings together 50 young people for intensive programming on June 19-20, continuing CDF's legacy of combining academic excellence with social justice education (K-12) and community organizing. The program is free and will run concurrent to the Assembly programming. To learn more and register for the program please go to: https://forms.gle/unZmScFfboA774Rt8.  

Members of the public can sign up to attend the National Assembly for free, receive program information and RSVP here: https://stateoftheppl.com/baltimore/.  Additionally please visit this link for a full list of speakers, partners, vendors and resources and click “Know Before you Go”.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE *** Note: All times EST. ***

Thursday June 19, 2025 DAY 1: LIGHT THE FLAME. CLAIM THE FUTURE. 

3:00pm - 5:00pm Registration

4:30pm - 6:30pm Opening Plenary

6:30pm - 9:30pm Juneteenth Fish Fry Celebration: “Freedom, Food & Forever Family”

NOTE: Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School ® – Juneteenth Special Session will run from 3:00pm - 6:00pm

LOCATION: Empowerment Temple AME Church

4217 Primrose Ave

Baltimore, MD 21215

Friday June 20, 2025 DAY 2: MOVING THE PEOPLE 

7:30am - 8:30am - Registration & Breakfast, Vendor and Resource tables open

10:00am - 11:30am Morning Plenary 

Welcome: Maya Rockeymoore Cummings

Discussion of the Black Papers: Economic power, labor, entrepreneurship, and community safety

Featuring Rev. Jamal Bryant, Rashad Robinson, April Verrett, Kim Blackwell,.

MODERATOR: Alphonso David 

Vignettes: Larry Hamm, Mayor Ras Baraka, Ilyasah Shabazz

11:30am - 12:30pm Breakout Sessions #1: Workshops and regional strategy circles

How to run for office: A’shanti Gholar,Emerge America 

Black Women Leading Change: Minyon Moore (Power Rising, Black Women's Leadership Collective); Bishop Leah Daughtry (Power Rising, Black Women’s Leadership Collective); Shavon Arline Bradley (National Council of Negro Women, BWLC); Melanie Campbell (National Coalition of Black Civic Participation/ BWLC)

Moderated by Karen Finney (TV Commentator/BWLC)

Black Men’s Health and Wellness: Jeff Johnson, Vincent Evans, Dominik Whitehead, Khalil Thopmson

Hands Off! – Keeping Our Knowledge and Our History: Kimberlé Crenshaw; Judith Browne Dianis  

12:45pm - 2:45pm Lunch - During lunch there will poetry, music, and dance 

3:00pm - 4:00pm Afternoon Plenary Define the Agenda. Drive the Change

Black Papers discussion: healthcare, and wellness with Fatima Goss Graves, Shavon Arline Bradley, Dr. Yari Mercedes, Monique Toussaint, Kimberle Crenshaw

MODERATOR: David Johns

4:00pm - 5:30pm Delegate Training

4:00pm - 5:00pm Breakout Session #2

Land, Legacy, and Liberation: Discussion about land ownership, emergency preparedness (climate disasters) and mutual aid  networks and infrastructure with Jiana Murdic, Get Fresh Daily; Elizabeth Okero from Life Do Grow Farms; Chris Bolden from Sankofa Farms; Eric Jackson, Black Yield Institute

Power Mapping: Dejuana Thompson, Woke Vote 

Violence Intervention and the Tools that Work: Until Freedom, Live Free

Building Our Power – Transforming the Criminal Legal System: Out for Justice, Louis Reed, Andrea James 

Responding to the Police State: Organizing, Protecting and Healing our Communities. Lessons from Baltimore, Louisville & Beyond with Nicole Hayden, Tre Murphy, Marilyn Mosby, Judith Browne Dianis

5:00pm - 6:00pm Breakout Sessions #3 

How to Develop and Strengthen Mutual Aid Networks with Heber Brown, Black Church Food Security Network; Eric Jackson, Black Yield Institute; Rukia Lumumba, People’s Advocacy Institute

Utilizing Digital Platforms as the Key to Owning Our Stories: Garrison Hayes, Elizabeth Booker Houston, Simone Phillips, Hope Gizelle

All Eyes on Maryland – Reparations Movements at the Local, State, and Federal Level with Dayvon Love; Dreisen Heath; Dr. Wes Bellamy

Service Beyond ServiceAddressing the unique challenges facing Black veterans with JoJo Sweatt; Jermaine Collins USA Vet; Clyde Gunter, USN Veteran 

6:00pm - 8:00pm Dinner Break - no formal program

8:30pm - 10:00pm Evening Town Hall “Reclaiming Our Time, Claiming Our Power”

Sherilynn Ifill, Louis Reed, Andrea James

Emcee Deanna Reed

8:00am - 6:00pm Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School ® – Juneteenth Special Session

MEDIA RSVP

To attend or request interviews, contact: comms@stateoftheppl.com

ABOUT STATE OF THE PEOPLE

The State of the People is a national movement grounded in community healing, civic action, and cultural power. Led by local and national coalitions of organizers, educators, artists, and everyday people, the movement builds on historic Black conventions to create a modern political and cultural agenda defined by us, for us.

To learn more, visit: www.stateoftheppl.com