On January 6, 2021, we witnessed an insurrection. Even though only one gun shot was fired, live seditious acts by white supremacists and white nationalists tried to stop the America democratic process and silence the majority of America’s votes with force and violence. Even though the insurrection failed, it exposed America’s racist tendencies and what happens when we have over the years turned a blind eye to the realities of not honestly and fully confronting America’s original sin. We have an opportunity in 2021 to take back America’s “ideal” of being the land of the free and the home of the brave, governed by and for the people. “(That), We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all *(humans) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

We must move away from a self-perpetuating systemic racism in America that continues to fuel white supremacy, exploitation, oppressions, inequities, and brutalities on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) populations. The 2021 Overcoming Racism Conference is dedicated to the dismantling of these systems, structures, and cultures that are enablers of racism. We cannot slow down. We must move forward with a Fierce Urgency for Transformation Now!