"Chris Crass is an intellectual, political, spiritual visionary. He is the kind of public intellectual and activist we desperately need - in the halls of academia, in our spiritual centers and in the streets."
- Molly Talcott, California State University, Los Angeles
- Molly Talcott, California State University, Los Angeles
Bring Chris to your Campus, CongrEgation or cOMMUNITY
Chris Crass works with schools, community groups and congregations around the country. His use of storytelling, humor and historical examples, connects audiences to think, act and lead. He has inspired thousands to open their minds and hearts, to the injustices we face as a society, and the work needed to make change. Chris uses his own experiences and lessons from social justice movements, to help people connect to a living legacy of work for progressive change, and gives them tools and support to get involved.
CENTRAL THEMES IN CHRIS'S TALKS AND WORKSHOPS INCLUDE:
• Creating a culture of inspiration to counter despair and build resilience for liberation;
• Moving through guilt, shame and fear into courage, love, and action;
• Inspiring participants to connect to their values and see themselves as part of larger movements for justice;
• Supporting white people to see racial justice as central to their own humanity and collective liberation;
• Helping men embrace gender justice as central to their own humanity and take action for feminism;
• Grounding our efforts for change in a vision of love for our world, our communities, and ourselves.
His talks can be tailored to be keynotes or interactive lectures and workshops depending on your needs and goals. He is gifted in working with people new to these ideas as well as people who have long been involved in social change work.
CENTRAL THEMES IN CHRIS'S TALKS AND WORKSHOPS INCLUDE:
• Creating a culture of inspiration to counter despair and build resilience for liberation;
• Moving through guilt, shame and fear into courage, love, and action;
• Inspiring participants to connect to their values and see themselves as part of larger movements for justice;
• Supporting white people to see racial justice as central to their own humanity and collective liberation;
• Helping men embrace gender justice as central to their own humanity and take action for feminism;
• Grounding our efforts for change in a vision of love for our world, our communities, and ourselves.
His talks can be tailored to be keynotes or interactive lectures and workshops depending on your needs and goals. He is gifted in working with people new to these ideas as well as people who have long been involved in social change work.
“When word of Chris's speaking event hit Nashville, folks from all over the movement packed the room to hear his inspirational message. His vision is a balance between cutting-edge thinking and pragmatic, time-tested organizing work. He lights up the imagination and warms the heart.”
- Allyn Steele, Vanderbilt University and Co-Director of the Highlander Center
- Allyn Steele, Vanderbilt University and Co-Director of the Highlander Center
“With compelling honesty Chris Crass shares his journey toward understanding his own privilege in order to become a more effective ally in struggles for justice, providing inspiration and practical guidance for working across differences of race, class, sexuality, and gender."
— Barbara Smith, author of The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom, founding member of the Combahee River Collective, and editor of Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology
"Chris is a dynamic workshop leader and preacher who is able to convey challenging, often painful, concepts with depth and compassion. He had our congregation riveted and responsive throughout, using personal stories, intellectual rigor and a disarming vulnerability in his presentation. He easily presented content in a way that was as accessible to millennial college students as it was to long-time boomer activists."
-Rev. Lisa Bovee-Kemper, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, NC
"Chris led our group with skill, sensitivity and great energy. His participative and empowering style enabled us to have richer, more meaningful conversation together, and gave us practical tools to work with."
-Casper ter Kuile, Harvard University and co-host of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast
— Barbara Smith, author of The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom, founding member of the Combahee River Collective, and editor of Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology
"Chris is a dynamic workshop leader and preacher who is able to convey challenging, often painful, concepts with depth and compassion. He had our congregation riveted and responsive throughout, using personal stories, intellectual rigor and a disarming vulnerability in his presentation. He easily presented content in a way that was as accessible to millennial college students as it was to long-time boomer activists."
-Rev. Lisa Bovee-Kemper, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, NC
"Chris led our group with skill, sensitivity and great energy. His participative and empowering style enabled us to have richer, more meaningful conversation together, and gave us practical tools to work with."
-Casper ter Kuile, Harvard University and co-host of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast
His talks can be tailored to be keynotes or interactive lectures and workshops depending on your needs and goals. He is gifted in working with people new to these ideas as well as people who have long been involved in social change work.
From Georgetown University and Harvard to Georgia State University and University of Arkansas, he has given students critical insights into social justice activism. In talks with community groups in Pittsburgh, Des Moines, Milwaukee, and Birmingham, he has shared stories and lessons on organizing from a place of love and possibility. In workshops with faith communities in Minnesota, Tennessee, Washington and Ohio, he has inspired congregations with insights on leadership guided by vision and rooted in justice values.
CHRIS GIVES TALKS AND LEADS WORKSHOPS ON:
• Courage for Racial Justice, Courage for Collective Liberation
• Being an Ally for Social Justice: multiracial democracy and economic justice for all
•Against Sexism, Against Rape Culture: the need for men to take action for feminism
• Creating Healthy Culture to Build Healthy Movements
• From Our Ancestors, For Our Future: Lessons from Ella Baker and Anne Braden
More then just giving a talk or a workshop, Chris fundamentally believes that our communities can and must take action for multiracial democracy and economic justice for all, and that love is a powerful transformative force for change.
Contact us here to bring Chris to your campus, community or congregation.
"When we brought Chris to our college, we knew we would get solid workshops on both anti-racist organizing and feminism for men. What we also got was an animated, open and understanding person who was willing to listen to us and cater the workshops to the college's needs. Chris made people feel welcome, involved, and important within these challenging conversations and ideas."
- Dyaami D'Orazio and Zia Kandler, Oberlin College
"His workshops --one for faculty and administrators, the second for students -- each elicited tremendously positive responses, where students, faculty and administrators alike felt like they gleaned critical insight into racial and gender equality."
- Vanessa Tyson, Dickinson College
- Dyaami D'Orazio and Zia Kandler, Oberlin College
"His workshops --one for faculty and administrators, the second for students -- each elicited tremendously positive responses, where students, faculty and administrators alike felt like they gleaned critical insight into racial and gender equality."
- Vanessa Tyson, Dickinson College
"I asked Chris to speak to my class because of his impressive breadth of knowledge about the history and theory of social justice movements, and practical application of organizing. He tailored his talk specifically to the issues facing students on our campus and area of the country. Drawing from his own experience, he offered insight into organizing around Ethnic Studies, which is a huge issue in Arizona right now, in an accessible and inspirational manner. Everyone was electrified by his presentation."
- Laura Campagna, Cultural and Regional Studies Department, Prescott College
Some of the schools, organizations, conferences and faith communities Chris Crass has worked with:
Colleges and Universities
Georgetown University, DC
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
Harvard, Massachusetts
Arizona State University, Arizona
Indiana University Kokomo, Indiana
University of Nevada, Nevada
Oberlin College, Ohio
Stanford University, California
University of Arkansas, Arkansas
Syracuse University, New York
University of Tennessee, Tennessee
University of California, Los Angeles, California
Prescott College, Arizona
University of Washington, Washington
Reed College, Oregon
La Salle University, Pennsylvania
De Paul University, Illinois
John Madison University, Virginia
York University, Toronto, Canada
Iowa State University, Iowa
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Amherst College, Massachusetts
University of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon
Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota
University of Dayton, Ohio
Northern Arizona University, Arizona
Drake University, Iowa
Dickenson College, Pennsylvania
Starr King School for the Ministry, California
Georgia State University, Georgia
Temple University, Pennsylvania
Iliff School of Theology, Denver
Tufts University, Massachusetts
Seattle University, Washington
Whittier College, California
Haverford College, Pennsylvania
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Santiago Community College, California
Purchase College, New York
Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada
Conferences
Facing Race
White Privilege Conference
National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE)
Leading Edge/Revolutionary Love
Association of Independent Schools in New England
Community College Symposium on Racial Equity
Wild Goose Festival
Racial Equity Symposium of the Association of America Medical Colleges
Organizations and Faith Communities
Jewish Voice for Peace
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA)
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church, Arkansas Conference
Unitarian Universalist Association
Episcopal Diocese of Olympia Washington
Martin Luther King Jr Center for Non-Violent Social Change, Atlanta
Iraq Vets Against the War
Indivisible
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
Statera Foundation for Gender Equity in the Performing Arts
Fairness Campaign, Kentucky
Haymarket People's Fund
New Economy Coalition
Resource Generation
Rural Organizing Project, Oregon
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers)
Student Labor Action Coalition
National Lawyers Guild
Community Shares, Tennessee
Allies for Racial Equity
Downtown Disciples of Christ, Des Moines
Prison Justice Ministries of Illinois
Chicago Freedom School
Centre for Gender Advocacy, Montreal
American Ethical Union
Montreal Housing For All Committee
Wisconsin Unitarian Universalists for Black Lives Matter
Transform Network
All Souls Church, DC
River Road Congregation, Maryland
Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Battle Creek, Michigan
Association of American Medical Colleges
