06/18/2025
We are honored to welcome Aja Monet as the keynote speaker for The Law Belongs to Everyone Youth Legal Empowerment Conference, happening this Saturday, June 21st, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fordham Law School.
When we talk about legal empowerment, about putting legal tools and knowledge into the hands of everyday people, we must also talk about storytelling. Which means we must talk about Aja.
Storytelling is often the beginning of everything.
Before laws change, before systems shift, it starts with someone telling the truth about their experience. A story becomes a spark. It calls people in. It builds community. It names harm. It demands something better. And then it compels people to organize and mobilize. Through that collective action, we change the circumstances around us. And some of the most lasting ways we solidify those changes are through our legal system.
The entire history of the 14th Amendment, the amendment tied to our most fundamental rights, is rooted in storytelling, organizing, and collective action.
Storytelling is not separate from the law. It is how we enter the law. It is how we make it reflect our lives. It’s how those who’ve been locked out of power for generations have shaped law, demanded rights, and imagined new realities.
Aja Monet’s life and work embody all of this. Through her poetry, organizing, and radical love, she reminds us that the law should be a set of community agreements rooted in justice, imagination, and care. And that the people shaping our legal system should be those who believe deeply in humanity’s potential.
As our rights are being challenged from all sides, this is a moment that demands powerful stories, informed communities, and collective action.
This conference is open to youth and adults alike. You’re welcome to attend any portion of the day, but we hope you’ll come for the whole thing. It’s going to be incredible. Also: Aja just released a new book, Florida Water, and we got copies for conference participants.
Join us. Register now via the link in bio.
