Pulpit+ Exchange’s “How We All Get Free” series
Iliff is inviting activists, scholars, ministers, thought leaders, and journalists from a wide range of social locations to share their stories of hope and activation for universal emancipation in our “How We All Get Free” series.
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977), community organizer and co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the 1971 National Women’s Political Caucus is one of our inspirations for the Pulpit+Exchange’s “How We All Get Free” series.
The speech Hamer delivered at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in January 1971 emphasized “your freedom is shackled in chains to mine. And until I am free, you are not free either.” Later that year, at the founding meeting of the National Women’s Political Caucus, she addressed the challenges black and white women faced around gender equality. It was here that she proclaimed, “nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
Although her speeches focused on racial and gender equity, her words continue to reverberate in our ears, hearts, and minds today because we not only continue to struggle to end oppressive racism and sexism, but we remain enslaved by assaults on nature and immoral treatment based on one’s national origin, religion, gender identity, ability, and sexual orientation.
Because we advocate freedom at Iliff, we have invited activists, scholars, ministers, thought leaders, and journalists from a wide range of social locations to share their stories of hope and activation for universal emancipation in our “How We All Get Free” series.
Please join us as we begin this series in Fall 2025 with the following guests:
Ericka Huggins in conversation about her extraordinary life.
September 8, 2025
You may associate her with the Black Panther Party. She was a member, and that is a significant part of her story, but there is so much more to know about her to capture her whole essence. It is only in knowing her complete story that we can gain insights into our freedom.
In this conversation, we will gain a three-dimensional understanding of Ericka Huggins because we will learn about her upbringing in Washington, D.C.; her awakening to her ability to impact social justice as an undergraduate at Cheyney State and then Lincoln University; her meditation practices she learned while imprisoned and how they influence her spirituality today; her work as a prison abolitionist; and her experiences as a mother, grandmother, and educator.
Rev. Dr. Jamie Eaddy returns to continue our work on “Grief in a New World.”
September 15, 2025
The world continues to be unpredictable. The expectation of a promised reward from the “study hard and work hard” ethos has been diminished. The availability of student loans to pursue a college degree and the ability to repay them is uncertain. The job market is unstable. Church membership continues to decline. Health care costs continue to rise. One may have fears of being picked up or their neighbors snatched off the street by sex traffickers or ICE. How can we cope? How can we live in such an environment? How do we grieve?
As a certified death doula, Dr. Eaddy helps individuals and families navigate the realities of physical death. She is coming again to help us engage the existential, environmental, social, and cultural deaths we are experiencing among the living.
Paula Yoo “Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992.”
September 29, 2025
Join us as Yoo shares from her book Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992, and describes the events that led to Sa I Gu (sah ee goo), translated to 4-2-9, a term used by Korean Americans to remember the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest, which is commonly known as the “LA Riots.”
Ultimately, this lecture and conversation will allow us to deconstruct the intersection of protest, race, class, and religion in the hopes that we can construct lessons for building healthy relationships between not only the African American and Asian communities but across differences in all social locations.
Keith Richotte, J.D. – The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told – Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution
October 13, 2025
Tricksters are often funny characters who bring messages of significant consequence. They are also embodiments of both human and divine. The trickster story that Keith Richotte will tell is unique in several ways. This story was drafted, edited, and recorded by the colonizer. This story has been told by the colonizer for hundreds of years. This story has been repeated by the colonized and those advocating for them. This story is told as a pillar of U.S. law.
Come to this lecture if you enjoy humorous stories that both make you laugh and give you cause to pause. Attendees will gain a greater understanding of U.S. law, Indian law, and how to discontinue reinforcing the worst trickster story ever told.
Rev. Adriene Thorne –“I Think I’ll Make Me A World: The Creative and Communal Art of Getting Free”
November 17, 2025
Drawing on the fierce wisdom of Fannie Lou Hamer—who insisted that “none of us are free until all of us are free” — I will invite the gathered community into an embodied experience that reimagines the work of liberation for our fractured moment. Speaking as a theologian, artist, dancer, and mom, I will share how my faith tradition and decades of stage performance equip us all to confront the most urgent crises of our time. My lecture will weave story, movement, and imagination to show how the church, when rooted in creative courage, can become a site of holy disruption and collective healing. Freedom is not only a political demand but a spiritual discipline—an act of becoming human and making the world we long for. Freedom is a communal project that we undertake together until all are free.
Find your Community at Iliff!
Join us for Iliff’s Pulpit+ Exchange Series, an inspiring series of in-person and virtual gatherings where clergy, lay leaders, activists, scholars, ministers, journalists, and community organizers come together to wrestle with the most pressing questions of our time. Together, we’ll explore powerful stories of hope, healing, and action—each rooted in a shared vision of justice and liberation.
Whether you’re a faith leader, community builder, or someone seeking meaningful connection, this is more than a lecture series—it’s an invitation to be part of a growing network of changemakers committed to building a more just and equitable world.
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What to Expect Each Evening:
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5:00 – 5:45 PM (MST): Light meal and connection
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5:45 PM: Lecture begins, followed by Q&A and deep discussion
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Location: In-person at Iliff or online via livestream
(Unable to attend in person? Register to receive the livestream link.)
Why Attend?
Because change starts in community. This is a space to be challenged and inspired—while meeting others who share your passion for faith-rooted justice, equity, and collective liberation. Come for one evening or all. Stay for the conversation. Leave with new energy, new insights, and a renewed sense of purpose.
RSVP now and take your seat at the table.
About Pulpit+ Exchange
Iliff’s Pulpit+ Exchange Series (supported by the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative from Lilly Endowment Inc.) provides space for a diverse array of ordained clergy and lay leaders to gather for a meal and grapple with challenging issues. One of the main goals of the Pulpit+ Exchange is to build congregations of people who will authentically study, worship, walk, and act together across differences to create a just and equitable world.