2026 Symposium Registration
2026 National Symposium: Inspiring Change Through Actionable Dialogue
March 12-13, 2026
The Renaissance Montgomery
Please join us for a two-day gathering of advocates, students, educators, legal and community leaders, and all those committed to the work of justice, education, and civil rights. Full event details are below. Some highlights and event details include:
- Plenary Speaker: Bryan Fair, Interim President, Southern Poverty Law Center
- Focus on voting rights, media & social justice and actionable strategies
- Opportunities for meaningful cross-discipline dialogue
- Panel discussions with insights & strategies from thought leaders
Note: We define “students” as University undergraduates or Graduate students.
Purchase Tickets
Registration for this event has closed. Please contact laura@fredgrayinstitute.org with any questions.
2026 Symposium Overview
What to Expect
A combination of rich ingredients will make the Second Annual Fred Gray Symposium for Human and Civil Rights exceptionally timely and utterly unique.
Timely
Given the coming Midterm elections, three of our four panels will focus on Voting Rights, under these topics: History & Principles; Contemporary Challenges; and Voices from the Field & Actionable Steps. Additionally, the Media’s role in Civil Rights ~ then and now ~ will compose our riveting closing session.
Unique
Leading civil rights organizations and more than 20 activists and scholars are represented in the 90-minute panels. The Symposium gathers together the best minds and leading activists of our day.
The “secret sauce” is that these expert panelists are conversationalists. Each Panelist will begin with an 8-minute presentation, setting forth a crisply stated and particular angle for conversation.
Facilitated interaction among the panelists follows, where points of agreement, clarification, or disagreement are made, all while creating a growing synergy.
Setting up audience interaction, a Conversant (from the audience) will ask a prepared question for one or two panelists, taking the conversation deeper and modeling quality interaction.
For the duration of the panel, members of the Audience engage with the panelists in meaningful interaction.
Engaged listening is the critical component. Panelists with keen expertise, trusting the knowledge and insights of the others, leads to a panel and audience interaction that is potentially synergistic and “heuristic” ~ Perfectly timed for our current climate.
The Moderator’s role is pivotal and proactive: they are conductors of a lively and informed orchestra! Each session concludes with the Moderator’s assessment, what we call the “Heuristic Grist” of the panel; asking where does this conversation lead us? where can this go? And, identifying specific action steps, further conversation, and other necessary developments.
FEATUring
Engaging Voices for Human and Civil Rights
Michael A. Anastasi
Senior Vice President of Local News, Gannett Co. and USA Today and former editor of The Tennessean
The distinguished panelists will lead discussions, share transformative insights, and challenge us to think deeply about the path forward for civil rights and justice. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from some of the foremost leaders in the field.
Program Schedule
Thursday Evening, March 12
Welcome & Dinner
5:00 – 8:30pm
Welcome and Greetings
Mr. Cal Walker, Host, Tuskegee History Center, Board of Trustees
Dr. David Fleer, Co-Host, Fred D. Gray Institute for Human and Civil Rights, Director of Advancement
Dr. Randy Lowry, Co-Host, Lipscomb University, President Emeritus
Greetings from Dignitaries, Friends and Special Guests including:
President Ashley Upkins, National Bar Association
Senator Kirk Hatcher, Alabama’s 26th District
Mr. Fred Gray, Jr., on behalf of the Gray family
Invocation
Dinner
After Dinner Program
Mr. Alvin Garrett, Musical Guest, “It Starts in the Heart” & “By Myself”
Special Recognition
President Bryan Fair, Southern Poverty Law Center, “Bending the Arc: The Resistance Spirit, Past and Present.”
Panel Reply:
President Angela Sims, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Moderator,
Rev. Trent Ogilvie, Columbia Peace and Justice Initiative,
Director Sophia Lin Lakin, American Civil Liberties Union, Voting Rights Project
Comments and Benediction
Friday, March 13
Breakfast: 7:30 – 8:00am
Welcome: 8:00 – 8:30am
David Fleer, Co-Host, Director of Advancement, Fred D. Gray Institute for Human and Civil Rights
Randy Lowry, Co-Host, Lipscomb University, President Emeritus
Presentation Ceremony: Deborah Gray “Champions of Justice”
Formal Announcement: “The Deborah Gray Scholars Program”
Ashley Upkins, President National Bar Association
Mentors: Tafeni English-Relf, SPLC, Director
Cassandra Adams, University of Alabama Law, Dean
Fred Gray, Jr. & Cal Walker, Trustees Tuskegee History Center, ex officio
Session I
Voting Rights: History & Principles
8:30 – 10:00 am
- Moderator: Jeff Baker, University of Alabama Law
- Video: “History of Voting Rights”
Panelists
- Jonathan Entin, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Emeritus
- Laurel Hattix, ACLU of Alabama
- John Giggie, University of Alabama, Summersell Center for the Study of the South
- Daniel Tokaji, University of Wisconsin School of Law, Dean
Session II
Voting Rights: Contemporary Challenges & Trends
10:20 – 11:50 am
- Moderator: Ayesha Bell Hardaway, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Panelists
- Atiba Ellis, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
- Greg Carr, Howard University, Afro-American Studies
- Sophia Lin Lakin, ACLU, Director Voting Rights Project
Lunch
Noon – 1:15
Prompted Table Discussions
Session III
Voting: Voices from the Field & Action Steps
1:15 – 2:45 pm
- Moderator: Tafeni English-Relf, Southern Poverty Law Center, Alabama State Director
Panelists
- Kris Banks, “Shape Up The Vote”
- JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, ACLU, Executive Director of Alabama
- Deuel Ross, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Deputy Director of Litigation
Conversant
- Brian Stogner, Michigan School of Psychology
Session IV
Media and Social Justice
3:05 – 4:40 pm
- Moderator: Michael A. Anastasi,USA TODAY Network and Gannet, Vice President of Local News
Panelists
- Monica Richardson, USA TODAY, Senior Vice President
- Bryan Adamson, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
- John Jones, The Ohio State University, Digital Media Studies
- Ashlynn Profit, Civic Nation
Session V
Inaugural Ceremony
“Fred Gray Legacy Award: Honoring Courageous Leadership
in the Advancement of Human and Civil Rights”
4:50 – 5:10 pm
6:00pm Dinner Groups
“Facilitating Responses to the Invitation”
We have “reserved” tables of 4 to 10 in restaurants near the Renaissance to facilitate continuing conversations. Groups are asked to self-select. To promote fairness, we ask that you share meal expenses among the group. Trusting that the dialogue will be valuable, if possible, we request one person be designated for a short “content report-back” the next morning.
Saturday Morning, March 14*
7:30 – 10:00am
- Content Report-Backs from Dinner Conversations
- Proposed Gray Institute Programming for 2026 & How you can get involved!
- Prospective Sessions for 2027
* Optional breakfast session for attendees staying overnight who wish to invest more deeply
Venue
Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center
Reserve your room at the Renaissance today.
201 Tallapoosa St
Montgomery, AL 3610
(334) 481-5000
2026 Symposium Sponsors
Deborah Gray Scholars Program Sponsor
In-Kind Sponsors
Hotels
Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center
201 Tallapoosa St
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 481-5000
Elevation Hotel
600 Montgomery Street
MOntgomery, AL 36104
(334) 929-0600
Embassy Suites by Hilton Montgomery Hotel & Conference Center
300 Tallapoosa St
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 269-5055
Across the street from the Renaissance
Homewood Suites by Hilton Montgomery EastChase
7800 Eastchase Pkwy
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 277-9383
11 mile drive – typically 15-20 minutes
Hampton Inn & Suites Montgomery-EastChase
7651 Eastchase Pkwy
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 277-1818
11 mile drive – typically 15-20 minutes
Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Montgomery
100 Gibbons Dr
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 649-4465
12 mile drive – typically 15-20 minutes
Fairfield Inn & Suites Montgomery-EastChase Parkway
8970 Eastchase Pkwy
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 260-8650
12 mile drive – typically 15-20 minutes
Fairfield Inn and Suites Montgomery Airport South
7560 Mobile Hwy
Montgomery, AL 36105
(334) 281-6882