From the Hood to the Halls of Power: We Shall Not Be Moved

To commemorate Black History Month, this keynote speaker event will feature Nekima Levy Armstrong discussing the future of Black history, historical & modern Black resistance, and where power and justice truly lie.

About the Speaker

Nekima Levy Armstrong is an award-winning civil rights attorney, activist, and racial justice advocate. She previously served as Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas Law School for thirteen years, where she founded and directed the Community Justice Project, an award-winning civil rights legal clinic. 

Nekima is the Executive Director of the Wayfinder Foundation, which provides support for women of color activists and organizers around the country. Nekima is also the founder of the Racial Justice Network, a grassroots organization that organizes and leads protests and demonstrations, provides community outreach and resources, and challenges injustices within systems that impact Black people and other people of color in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities. Nekima is the author of a recently released social justice children’s book, entitled “J is for Justice” that teaches children the power of activism, protest, and standing for justice.

Nekima’s work has been featured on OprahDaily.com, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, NPR, Crisis Magazine, Huff Post, MinnPost, and Star Tribune, to name a few. She has appeared on CNN, BET, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, Democracy Now, Al Jazeera America, News One, and HuffPost Live.

 Nekima is owner and principal consultant of Black Pearl, LLC, a multi-faceted company that provides business consulting and public relations services. She is also the co-creator of Assata Speaks (like TED Talks, but with more swag). In 2020 and 2017, she was named 100 People to Know by Twin Cities Business. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Governor’s Commission on Martin Luther King Day. In 2015, she was named one of “40 Under 40” by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. In 2014, she was named a “Minnesota Attorney of the Year” by Minnesota Lawyer and recognized as one of “50 Under 50 Most Influential Law Professors of Color in the Country” by Lawyers of Color Magazine. She previously served as president of the Minneapolis NAACP and as an advisor to Black Lives Matter. She ran for Mayor of Minneapolis in 2017.