When our day to day feels bombarded with conflict, what is there to hope for? From Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower,” to the magic of Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” futurism creates space for dreaming what’s possible when things fall apart. And it also starts with mindset, community and space to dream.

Join us for a casual evening of radical imagination with Ifeoma Ike—award-winning founder of strategy and policy firm, Pink Cornrows, and bestselling author of “The Equity Mindset.” Blending her experiences as a disabled first-generation lawyer, social researcher, and community organizer, Ifeoma will curate a space centering how we navigate rage, faith, and transformative change.

Come design with us! This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required as space is limited.

Ifeoma Ike is an award-winning attorney, bestselling author and impact and policy strategist. As Founder & Chief Equity Weaver of impact agency Pink Cornrows, Ifeoma has supported global and national political and social campaigns, designed equity strategies for municipal, tech and health sectors, and co-drafted several policies all aimed at both advancing justice for marginalized communities and leading with joy and curiosity.

A former Wall Street attorney and Capitol Hill staffer, Ifeoma's career vitae includes working at the Innocence Project, teaching as adjunct professor at Lehman College, and serving as Executive Deputy Director to the City of New York's Young Men's Initiative. A movement attorney with a background in human rights, civil rights and mediation, Ifeoma was part of the largest national bail strategy to date, the Mass Bailout campaign, partnering with Global Citizen and justice-minded influencers including director Ava DuVernay and singer and musician John Legend to free over 100 vulnerable people from Rikers Island. She also has advised and facilitated justice efforts centering the humanity of Black lives in Ferguson, Haiti, New Orleans, and Flint, as well as the families who have lived experiences with state-sanctioned violence.

With a masters in social science, Ifeoma's grasp on data-driven narratives has contributed to drafting several pieces of legislation, co-organizing the first congressional staffer walkout after the murder of Trayvon Martin and facilitating the creation of three congressional caucuses, including the Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation, which centers the ever-evolving tech and AI ecosystem and its impact on the future of work. Ifeoma is also the visionary of the annual Black Policy Lab—an inclusive space exploring how culture, joy and policies can lead to global, national and community liberation for all. With her Pink Cornrows team’s, Ifeoma created the "COVID While Black" research project that introduced humane culture-led data collection and storytelling during a pandemic, raising necessary and hard policy conversations around access and information, and resulting in international partnerships, policy collaborations and grant awards from Ford Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. Ifeoma is currently a NYU MsSilver Institute Resident Fellow. She is the first appointee from the New York City's Public Advocate's Office to serve on the Conflict of Interest Board.

Ifeoma is the bestselling author of "The Equity Mindset", an award-winning playwright, and has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, and PBS. She attributes much of her political growth to her time as a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellow, where she served as a policy aide to the late Hon. Donald M. Payne, Sr. (NJ), and as counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee under the leadership of the late Hon. John Conyers. Ifeoma is a graduate of West Virginia University (B.A. and M.A.), CUNY School of Law (J.D.) and The George Washington University Law School (LL.M. with highest honors). Ifeoma is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

This event is brought to you by Durham County library Humanities

and Sponsored by Durham Library Foundation

Where can I park when the Main Library parking lot is full?

Parking is available in the library parking lot or at the North Queen Street Garage located at 115 North Queen Street which is behind the apartments directly across the street from the library. Parking is free in the garage. Please bring your ticket to a service desk in the library for validation.