Further Questions? feel free to send us an e-mail: throughtheportal2024 [at] gmail.com
What is Through The Portal: Growing The World We Want?
Through the Portal: Growing the World We Want is a pivotal gathering that will bring a thousand scholars, activists, and artists converge in Chicago to culminate the Portal Project—a two-year, movement-driven symposium has ignited debates, dialogue, and collective envisioning on critical questions of justice, power, solidarity, and change. Speakers will analyze the current situations on the ground in Palestine, South Africa, and Brazil, as well as offer frameworks for responding to the current injustices plaguing higher education, from attacks on CRT, Black, and Queer Studies, to spiraling student debt, to the exploitation of campus labor, and increased repression of dissent.
Why Chicago?
Chicago has a rich history of freedom struggles and freedom-making work. It has been the site of social and political movements that have shaped the city, the nation, and beyond. From the tumultuous labor strikes of the late 19th century, such as the pivotal Haymarket Affair in 1886 that won the eight hour work day, to the profound contributions of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party in the mid-20th century, Chicago has been at the forefront of advocating for workers’ rights, racial justice, and social equity.
Program
What will we do at Through the Portal: Growing the World We Want?
Through the Portal will bring together 1,000 activists, scholars, and artists alongside a robust lineup of international voices—all committed to social justice. Our goal? To facilitate conversations, debates, and collaborations that pave the way to a more just and liberatory world.
Event Highlights
- Join a diverse assembly of scholars, activists, and artists to engage in critical dialogues on justice, power, and change.
- Dive into discussions on pressing global issues with notable speakers, including Angela Y. Davis, Hon. Cori Bush, Democracy Now! co-anchors Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, and many more.
- Participate in sessions addressing the current injustices in education, systemic racism, the threat of fascism, and the need for economic democracy.
- Join a special live-streamed pre-conference conversation with Pulitzer-prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen.