Claiming Our Space: Powering an Equitable Future
Second Annual Event
Friday, September 12, 2025
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
541 North Rush Street, Chicago
Community Mobility Rituals
Saturday, September 13, 2025
South Side Sanctuary
4702 South King Drive, Chicago
Join us on Friday, September 12, 2025, for our Second Annual Event, and on Saturday, September 13, 2025, for two concurrent Community Mobility Rituals. Over two days, we will immerse you in the breadth of our vision, mission, philosophies, and work. Our time together will be a powerful convergence of thought leaders, community practitioners, policymakers, advocates, philanthropists, and neighbors working collaboratively to generate power for an equitable future. This event is inspired by our historical progress and our contemporary setbacks, and it will provide an important opportunity to energize our movement and accelerate our work in the face of many challenges.
Equiticity’s 2025 signature event is an immersive, two-day convening designed to center Black, Brown, and Indigenous leadership, celebrate community power, and advance critical conversations and actions.
Keynote Speaker
Charles T. Brown, MPA, CPD
Founder & CEO, Equitable Cities LLC
Author, Arrested Mobility: Overcoming the threat to Black Movement
Mr. Charles T. Brown is an author, professor, entrepreneur, and military veteran dedicated to advancing transportation equity as a fundamental social justice issue. A globally recognized expert in urban planning and mobility justice, he has spent his career working to dismantle systemic barriers to active transportation, ensuring safe, accessible, and sustainable mobility options for all—especially historically marginalized communities.
As Founder & Managing Principal of Equitable Cities, he leads innovative policies and research initiatives that promote walking, biking, and micromobility as key strategies for public health, economic opportunity, and climate resilience. His work has shaped national and international conversations on sustainable transportation, influencing federal agencies such as USDOT, HUD, DOE, EPA, and CDC and contributing to landmark programs, including the USDOT Thriving Communities Program and National Energy Renewal Laboratory’s (NREL) CCEEJI initiatives.
Available for purchase now
In May 2025, Charles Brown published his highly anticipated book, Arrested Mobility: Overcoming the Threat to Black Movement. In this book, Brown discusses why mobility is not afforded in the same way to everyone. He argues that the legacy of structural racism and White supremacy has led to disinvestment and over-policing in Black communities and communities of color, thwarting opportunity, as physical mobility and social mobility are intrinsically linked. This experience for Black people around the world is what Brown refers to as arrested mobility.
Arrested Mobility: Overcoming the Threat to Black movement
Hosts
Malcom Glenn
Master of Ceremonies
Founder, MG Equity Consulting
Samantha Roxas
Fireside Chat Host
Founding Partner, Common Good Strategies
Honorees
Alderwoman Monique Scott
Transformative Elected Official Award Recipient
As a native of North Lawndale, Alderwoman Monique L. Scott strives to continue building a better Westside for the hardworking and compassionate residents of the 24th Ward who deserve nothing less than a public servant who is dedicated to their needs.
Alderwoman Scott graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Marketing from Jackson State University and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from National Louis University.
Alderwoman Scott’s passion for the 24th ward runs deep, as she has spent her life and career developing relationships with residents of the community, which were built on the foundation of her parents, the late Michael Scott, Sr. and Millicent Scott, who were both prominent leaders in the city of Chicago. Growing up in a family of strong leaders, Alderwoman Scott is committed to building a successful community.
Alderwoman Scott believes the residents of the 24th Ward deserves someone who has an extensive understanding of the community, and the resourcefulness to leave no stone unturned. The legacy of public service in her family is something she is dedicated and committed to continuing.
L. Anton Seals Jr.
Transformative Community Advocate Award Recipient
L. Anton Seals Jr. is a South Shore Chicago, IL native. Seals is a multidimensional servant leader, organizer, entrepreneur, educator, community and political strategist and Impact producer.
Blending his varied interest Seals has worked with philanthropic, political leadership, corporate, and community-based organizations to focus on authentic "equity in action" via community engagement, advocacy/policy and social enterprise development. Seals also works in the arts and cultural space, producing campaigns for feature documentaries.
Anton is the co-founder and Lead Steward (Executive Director) of Grow Greater Englewood (GGE). Transforming vacant city lots into farm businesses, via a network of Black and Brown urban farmers. Building a social enterprise focusing on building an equitable and resilient local food system that fosters protections of vacant land in Black divested communities. Working at the intersection of Urban Agriculture and Environmental Justice, GGE is currently developing an Agro-Eco District centering Black residents and preserving Black culture, anchored by the Englewood Nature Trail (www.agroecoenglewood.org).
Julián Lazalde
Transformative Philanthropist Award Recipient
Julián Lazalde (he/him/his) is the Program Manager for Policy and Advocacy at Healthy Communities Foundation (HCF). He leads HCF’s health equity policy activities. Most importantly, as HCF’s primary liaison, Julián supports the individual, organizational, and community leadership of grantee partners in order to build movement and power towards greater health equity in the HCF region.
Julián believes philanthropy can be most impactful by listening intently to the realities of those working in community and with impacted individuals. He feels HCF is a model for how to support organizations and their communities through community-informed, trust-based grantmaking that is focused on harnessing organized money to build power with organized people in order to address health disparities and equity issues.
Prior to joining HCF, Julián was the Civic Engagement & Policy Analyst with the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) where he led NIJC’s local and state-level policy and legislative advocacy initiatives in conjunction with dozens of local, state, and national partners. In conjunction with community partners, Julián served on the policy and legislative advocacy committees that worked to pass and adopt state legislation such as the TRUST Act (2017), VOICES Act (2018), RISE Act (2019), and the Illinois Way Forward Act (2021).
Julián earned his Master’s degree in Public Administration from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Williams College.
5:30-6:30PM: Network and Book Signing
6:30-8:30pm: Program and Awards Ceremony
8:30-9:30pm: Reception
Agenda
Sponsorships
Consider supporting Equiticity by sponsoring our Second Annual Event and two concurrent Community Mobility Rituals, or by providing “Equity Gift Donations” to support the attendance from our program participants and nonprofit partners. Complete this online form at eqty.info/commitment to confirm your contribution. To discuss your partnership in more detail, please contact Oboi@equiticity.org.
Below, you’ll find our sponsorship opportunities, ranging from $1,500 to $25,000
Click the link here to view the full sponsorship proposal.
Please contact Oboi with any specific questions or to explore further ways to partner