Why we supported the White Privilege Conference

Elizabeth Glynn, Eddie Moore and Phil Glynn

Last week 1,624 thought leaders and community activists gathered in our hometown of Kansas City, MO, for the White Privilege Conference. Some of our local friends and partners have asked us why we made this important conference a priority. Travois was proud to provide financial support as a Conference Stakeholder.

(Pictured in the photo above from left to right are: Elizabeth Glynn, CEO, Travois; Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., executive director, The Privilege Institute; and Phil Glynn, president, Travois)

Our President, Phil Glynn, took to the Kansas City Star to explain why this conference mattered so much to us. Read his guest commentary.

White Privilege Conference

(Pictured in the photo above from left to right are: Eva Kathleen Schulte, vice president for economic opportunity, Travois; Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., executive director, The Privilege Institute; and Jacqueline Keeler, activist and writer, Telesur English and co-founder, Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry)

Our Vice President for Economic Opportunity, Eva Schulte, worked with Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., conference founder, to recruit WPC to Kansas City for the first time since its inception. We were glad to see the Kansas City metro and state of Missouri respond powerfully with the largest attendance.

(Pictured from left to right are: Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., executive director, The Privilege Institute; Pearl Leonard-Rock, associate director, The Butler Center; Dr. Michael E. Dyson, professor of sociology, Georgetown University, and political analyst, MSNBC; Eva Kathleen Schulte, vice president for economic opportunity; and Bakari Kitwana, author of “The Hip Hop Generation,” senior media fellow, the Jamestown Project)

Conference attendees got to hear the message of writer and activist Jacqueline Keeler as she discussed the Dakota Access Pipeline and issues of environmental justice. Dr. Dan Wildcat, professor at Haskell Indian Nations University, laid out an indigenous vision for development in this era of climate urgency.

After a long weekend of listening to and thinking with partners from around the Country, those of us who attended the conference are back at our desk with a new passion for our work.

(Pictured from left to right are: Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., executive director, The Privilege Institute; and Dr. Dan Wildcat, professor, Haskell Indian Nations University)

If you are interested in learning more about the conference and its founder Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., check out the work of the Privilege Institute.