About

Pursuing Justice 2020 Online was Bend the Arc’s national convening of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic Jewish social justice movement dedicated to building a more progressive democracy.

In 2016, Bend the Arc’s first national conference brought together and catalyzed a nationwide community of Jews rooted in our values and fighting against the rise of racism, xenophobia, and bigotry. 

Four years later, Pursuing Justice 2020 Online took place on May 3-4, 2020. It brought together activists, organizers, leaders, and anyone grounding their work in Jewish values for two days of learning, connecting, and mobilizing for the work ahead. 

We spent over a year planning Pursuing Justice 2020 so that — in a critical election year — this movement of Jews and allies would have a lifeline of connection, analysis, and strategy. While we couldn’t come together in person like we originally planned, the realities of the pandemic, antisemitism, and white nationalism made our time together all the more urgent and important.

Featured plenary speakers at Pursuing Justice 2020 Online included:

  • Alicia Garza, Founder and Principal of Black Futures Lab
  • Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change
  • Naomi Klein, Author of The Shock Doctrine
  • Greisa Martinez, Deputy Executive Director of United We Dream

With over 30 sessions, participants discussed, learned about, and took action on: 

  • disability and Jewish social justice,
  • how and why Jews are showing up for criminal justice reform,
  • understanding white nationalism and how we fight it, 
  • shifting wealth and power through solidarity economies, 
  • how to build transformational movements that win,
    …and so much more. 

Our program also included time for affinity group breakouts and specific workshop breakouts for Jews of color and white allies.

And, despite its virtual nature, conference participants still schmoozed with old and new friends in the “coffee break” room and at happy hour, signed up for individual sessions with healing practitioners, visited the “bookstore,” and contributed to an interactive art piece.

Keep scrolling to get more of a taste of learning, wisdom, and connection from Pursuing Justice 2020 Online. And, be sure to check out the conference videos, session resources, and Day 1 and Day 2 recaps.

Heard at Pursuing Justice 2020 Online

As we concluded Pursuing Justice 2020 Online Bend the Arc CEO Stosh Cotler shared these powerful words

You can read Stosh’s full closing remarks here.

We called this conference ‘Pursuing Justice.’ That’s because we all know that justice — it doesn’t just happen. Justice isn’t passively coming to us, justice isn’t coming to the United States on its own accord. We have to pursue it. We have to go get it. We have to cultivate it. Let’s get to it.

Presented By

Bend the Arc is uniting a movement of tens of thousands of progressive Jews across the country who are fighting for justice and equality for all. We are the only national Jewish organization focused exclusively on social change in the U.S.

Pursuing Justice 2020 Online would not have been possible without the help and brilliance of our consultants: ACS Captions, Architex, The Balcom Group, Alex Dodds, Daniel Essrow, Sam Fine, Suzanne Feinspan Consulting, Anne Hromadka Greenwald, Tom Haviv, Jessica Valoris, Vision Change Win

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