The fall conference was organized by the Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ashley Gallegos, Places of Belonging program director at the institute, said the organization periodically hosts large-scale convenings to connect people across the nation. She noted Kentucky was selected this year specifically because of ongoing local efforts to foster shared experiences and collective change.
“I'm hearing most clearly from Kentuckians is that the conference allowed a reflection of their place, of their city, of their towns, of their work, and inspired, reinvigorated hope, (and) brought pride to what Kentuckians are doing,” Gallegos observed.
One University of Cambridge research study published earlier this year found the U.S. population is increasingly fractured when it comes to social and political issues. Such divisions have increased by more than 60% since 1988.
Sadiqa Reynolds, an attorney and former CEO of the Louisville Urban League, said a recent case involving the detention of a young woman and mother named Armelle Bondonga highlights how communities are increasingly othered and alienated. Reynolds noted Bondonga was held by ICE for 55 days before being released. Her arrest came after a meeting with Department of Homeland Security officials.
“What is going on with ICE ends up impacting everybody in the city because you have children who are living in fear. They are afraid to go to school. Entire communities of human beings who are attempting to make themselves invisible,” Reynolds pointed out.
Ryan Davis, a teacher at Waggener High School in Jefferson County, said Bondonga was his former student and an active community leader who helped start a youth development program. He stressed that high schoolers are grappling with how to react and respond to divisiveness fracturing modern society.
“Having spaces like a conference like this where they can do a session and talk about the work they're doing, I think that's very empowering for young people to have a space to do that,” Davis emphasized.
Nearly 5,000 ICE arrests have occurred in Kentucky since the beginning of the Trump administration, according to data from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
