IGNYTE 2026
Family Reunion: Our People, Our Power
IGNYTE 2026 marks a powerful new chapter as the first IGNYTE convening hosted by The Rustin Institute for Leadership Development. Rooted in the belief that movements are strongest when generations lead together, this year’s theme– Family Reunion: Our People, Our Power– celebrates LGBTQ+ community as chosen family and leadership as a shared responsibility.
Like any family reunion, IGNYTE 2026 brings together elders, youth, mentors, organizers, creatives, and advocates across lived experience and generations. It is a space to reconnect, to learn from one another, and to strengthen the relationships that sustain movements over time. By centering intergenerational dialogue and collective care, IGNYTE affirms that our greatest power lies in one another.
Schedule At a Glance
Schedule At a Glance
National Center for Civil & Human Rights
100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd, NW
Atlanta, GA 30313
Thursday, October 8
5:00 - 6:00 PM: Registration and Self-Guided Museum Tour
6:30 - 6:40 PM: Welcome by Tim’m T. West
6:40 - 6:50 PM: Forward Together Artist Acknowledgment
6:50 - 7:40: The Pink Unicorn preview and Fireside Chat
7:40 - 8:00 PM: Leave a Story, Take A Story: A Community Alter Experience
National Center for Civil & Human Rights
100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd, NW
Atlanta, GA 30313
friday, October 9
8:00–9:00 AM — Continental Breakfast & Networking
9:00–9:10 AM — Welcome: NCCHR & Rustin Institute
9:10–10:00 AM — Belonging Builds Prosperity: A Netherlands–U.S. Plenary on Strengthening Families, Communities, and Economies
10:00–10:05 AM — Opening Reflections: Tim’m West
10:05–10:35 AM — National Youth Advocacy Corps Roundtable I
10:35–11:00 AM — South of Safe, North of Brave — Proof of Concept & Q&A
11:00–11:45 AM — Workshop Block I
11:50 AM–12:40 PM — Lunch & National Youth Advocacy Corps Roundtable II
12:50–1:40 PM — Workshop Block II
1:50–2:40 PM — Workshop Block III (Choose your own adventure)
3:00–3:50 PM — Forward Together Plenary
3:50–4:05 PM — Closing Keynote: Raquel Willis
4:05–4:15 PM — Closing & Announcements
5:30 - 7:30 PM - Family Dinner at East Lake Commons: 900 Dancing Fox RD Decatur, GA 30032
(Link to RSVP coming soon)
National Center for Civil & Human Rights
100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd, NW
Atlanta, GA 30313
Saturday, October 10
8:00– 8:20 AM — Continental Breakfast & Networking
8:20–9:10 AM — COLAGE Plenary
9:20 –10:10 AM — Workshop Block IV
10:10–10:25 AM — Family Equality Keynote: Dara Gordon
10:30–11:20 AM — Family Equality Plenary
11:25 AM–12:10 PM — Workshop Block V
12:15 PM- 12:35 PM- NYAC Special Projects: Interrogating Incarceration + Red River Red Clay
12:35–12:50 PM — Keynote: Bishop Yvette A. Flunder
12:50–1:00 PM — Closing Circle & Group Photo
1:00–3:00 PM — IGNYTE Family Cookout
3:00–10:00 PM — Atlanta Pride Festival at Piedmont Park (Optional)
Sunday, October 11
Our Keynote Speakers
Global human rights advocate, faith leader, and peacebuilding strategist
Lucas Johnson
Lucas Johnson (he/him) has deep, global experience in conflict resolution and community organizing. He has been shaped by his time learning from veterans of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., most closely Vincent Harding and Dorothy Cotton, and by his work with human rights activists around the world, especially in Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Lucas was a leader in the U.S. community of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), the world’s oldest interfaith peace organization, for 6 years, based in Atlanta and focused on the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. From 2014 until he joined the On Being Project in December, 2018, he served as General Secretary of IFOR’s global operation. Among the work he will draw on and extend as part of CCP, he incubated a Beloved Communities Project in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium; and helped to create an Ethics of Reciprocity initiative with the United Nations. Lucas studied at Mercer University and Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He was born in Germany in a military family, grew up in Georgia (U.S.), and now resides primarily in Amsterdam.
Award-winning activist, writer, and cultural strategist
Raquel Willis
Raquel Willis (she/her) is an award-winning activist, writer, and cultural strategist whose work explores storytelling as a tool for justice, accountability, and collective liberation. She is the author of The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation and a nationally recognized voice on gender, media, culture, and social change.
Willis has held leadership roles across journalism, philanthropy, and advocacy, including serving as the first openly transgender executive editor at Out and later as Director of Communications at the Ms. Foundation for Women. Her writing and commentary have appeared in publications including Vogue, Essence, and BuzzFeed, helping shape national conversations around identity, liberation, and cultural power.
A longtime organizer and advocate, Willis is the co-founder and Strategic Director of the Gender Liberation Movement. Her work has been recognized by TIME, GLAAD, and Forbes, among many others. Born and raised in Augusta, Willis continues to challenge audiences to imagine more honest, expansive, and liberated futures.
Bishop Yvette Flunder
American womanist, pastor, activist, and gospel singer
Bishop Yvette Flunder (she/her) is a nationally recognized pastor, speaker, and activist whose ministry has shaped conversations around faith, justice, HIV/AIDS advocacy, and radical inclusion for more than four decades. A womanist and liberation theologian, she is the founder of City of Refuge United Church of Christ and Presiding Bishop of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a global network of churches committed to affirming LGBTQ+ people and marginalized communities.
Known for her powerful storytelling, prophetic leadership, and deep pastoral care, Bishop Flunder has been a leading voice at the intersection of spirituality and social justice, including serving on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and speaking at the White House for World AIDS Day. Her work has also helped reshape conversations around inclusion within Black church traditions and faith communities across the globe. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion. Through her ministry, music, and advocacy, Bishop Flunder continues to challenge communities to build a more compassionate, courageous, and inclusive future.
The Pink Unicorn
by ELise Forier Edie
October 8, 2026
aN IGNYTE Preview. Adapted by Keena Redding
IGNYTE 2026 is honored to present a special preview performance of the award-winning solo play The Pink Unicorn, adapted and performed by acclaimed actor Keena Redding. This exclusive presentation offers audiences an early look at the production ahead of its full theatrical run in March 2027.
Written by Elise Forier Edie, The Pink Unicorn tells the story of Trisha, a Christian widow living in a conservative Texas town whose world is transformed when her teenage child comes out as gender queer and launches a Gay-Straight Alliance at their high school. Faced with questions of faith, family, identity, and belonging, Trisha must decide whether to cling to the expectations of her community or embrace the child she loves.
Presented as part of IGNYTE 2026: Family Reunion – Our People. Our Power., this moving and often humorous performance reminds us that family is not simply who we inherit—it is who we choose to love, protect, and grow alongside. Bayard Rustin taught us that movements are sustained not only by strategy, but by relationships rooted in courage, compassion, and an unwavering belief in one another's humanity. The Pink Unicorn embodies that spirit, inviting audiences to reflect on what it means to make room for one another around the family table, even when the conversation is difficult.
With sharp wit, profound tenderness, and poetic storytelling, Keena Redding's unforgettable performance explores the evolving meaning of parenthood, community, and unconditional love. As IGNYTE participants gather from across generations for a family reunion centered on justice, belonging, and collective liberation, this special preview offers an inspiring reminder that our strongest communities are built when every member of the family is seen, valued, and embraced.
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Keena Redding is an actress, singer, playwright, director, composer, music director, teacher, and activist. She has a master’s degree in Vocal Performance from The University of Florida, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre & Music and an Opera Certificate from Brenau University. Keena was last seen onstage in the award-winning one-woman comedy The Pink Unicorn, at ART Station in Stone Mountain, playing the role of Trisha Lee. Other notable past shows include Georgia Ensemble Theatre’s critically acclaimed productions of Morningside and On the Verge. She has also performed lead roles at Atlanta Lyric, Horizon Theatre, Alliance Theatre, and Georgia Shakespeare. Keena served as music director for Madeline’s Christmas (8 years) at Horizon Theatre and recently directed the hit musical Ordinary Days at Stage Door Theatre. The World Premiere of her most recent play, The Park was presented as part of Working Title Playwrights 2025 Fornés New Play Dramaturgy Conference. Keena’s play The Bullet (current title Sisters), directed by national director/playwright, Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj and featuring a powerhouse cast of Atlanta actors, premiered as part of Theatrical Outfit & Working Title Playwrights 2022 Graham Martin Unexpected Play Festival. She is currently writing Freedom – A New Trilogy of Short Plays. Taking the audience on an emotional journey of love, sacrifice, and revolution, Freedom is a timeless love story rooted in history. Keena is founder and lead teacher at Hummingbird Studios, a voice and acting studio where she assists award-winning students with singing technique, acting skills, and overall performance. “The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.” Dr. bell hooks
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Miquela Rivers is an artist-activist based here in Atlanta. From an early age her artistic experience has encompassed many different roles within the theater both on and off the stage; including actress, choreographer, stage manager, theater technician, creative editor, and more. She has had the privilege of collaborating with, teaching, and directing actors and creatives of all ages and is thrilled to remount this beautiful production of The Pink Unicorn and re-embark on this artistic endeavor with her mother and lead actress, Keena Redding. Here’s to living life as your most authentic self. We all deserve sunshine!
Friday, October 9th- Opening Plenary:
Belonging Builds Prosperity explores how inclusive communities, workplaces, and institutions strengthen both social cohesion and economic resilience. Inspired by IGNYTE 2026's theme, Family Reunion: Our People, Our Power, this Netherlands–U.S. conversation will be moderated by Lucas Johnson, whose work spans the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, global human rights, and peacebuilding initiatives across Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Drawing on his experience living between Amsterdam and the United States, Lucas will invite participants to explore how governments, businesses, and civic leaders can build the conditions for belonging—through public policy, ethical leadership, corporate responsibility, and community partnership—creating environments where innovation flourishes, workforces grow stronger, and communities become more resilient. Together, the panel will demonstrate that when every person and every family has the opportunity to belong, contribute, and thrive, communities become stronger, economies more resilient, and our shared future more prosperous.
Atlanta Pride Festival 2026
Sunday, October 11, 2026: National Coming Out & Inviting People In Day
This year, the Rustin Institute will be marching in the Atlanta Pride Parade on Sunday October 11th. This happens to occur on the same weekend at IGNYTE, so if you would like to join us in the Parade, we would love to have you! More information to come.
"Splore Crowd 2016" by Skyviewphotography is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Big Thanks to our sponsors
