This year marked the 20th anniversary of the student-led Black Policy Conference, held April 4-6 at Harvard Kennedy School. Conversations centered on the theme “Reclaim. Empower. Strategize. Transform. (REST): The Path to Sustainable Freedom,” flowed throughout the weekend as speakers and panelists focused their discussions on various policy areas, including sustainability, media, and the path to democracy.
Co-chair of the conference Roderick Taylor MPP 2025 reflected on the conference and what the three-day event meant to him.
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What inspired you to get involved with the Black Policy Conference?
I was inspired to get involved because it’s one of the few spaces at Harvard—and in the policy world more broadly—where Black leadership, experience, and imagination are fully centered. As a Black student interested in racial and economic justice, I saw the conference as a space where we could engage honestly with the challenges facing Black communities while also celebrating our resilience, creativity, and leadership. It offered a rare opportunity to be in a room full of people who already understand why this work matters.
There’s also something incredibly powerful about being part of a 20-year legacy. I was drawn to the responsibility of honoring that history while helping to shape what the future of the conference could look like. Being able to build on what previous students created—and to leave something meaningful for those who come after me—was a big part of why I was interested.
What key message did you want to communicate through this event?
Black policy work is not only about fixing broken systems—it’s also about building new ones. Our theme this year, “Reclaim, Empower, Strategize, Transform (REST): The Path to Sustainable Freedom,” was a reminder that change doesn’t only come from urgency and action; it also comes from rest, reflection, and care. We can’t create lasting change if we’re burned out or disconnected from ourselves and our communities.
This theme also allowed us to push back on the idea that productivity is the only way to measure value in policy spaces. Rest is often seen as something separate from the “real work,” but for Black communities who have historically been denied rest, making space to restore and heal is revolutionary. It’s a reminder that how we do the work matters just as much as what we do.
What gap in policy discussions were you hoping to fill with this conference?
The gap I hoped to address is the disconnect between academic or institutional policy conversations and the lived realities of Black communities. Too often, policy conversations happen at a distance from the people they’re about. They’re detached from community knowledge, frontline leadership, and day-to-day experiences. Through this conference, I wanted to highlight not only what policies need to change, but who should be at the table when those decisions are being made.
We also intentionally created space for topics that don’t usually show up in traditional policy settings—like the role of wellness, art, and rest in movements for justice. For example, we featured conversations about how Black farmers and food sovereignty advocates are not only fighting for land and resources, but also for healing and sustainability. These are deeply policy-relevant issues that often go overlooked, but they show how wellness and justice are connected.
“As a Black student interested in racial and economic justice, I saw the conference as a space where we could engage honestly with the challenges facing Black communities while also celebrating our resilience, creativity, and leadership.”
What does celebrating 20 years of the Black Policy Conference mean to you?
Reaching a 20-year milestone was both humbling and energizing! It was a chance to reflect on the legacy of Black students who had the vision and determination to build this space and to recognize that their work is what made our work possible. In a policy school like HKS, where so many conversations are shaped by dominant narratives, the Black Policy Conference has served as a counterspace—one that centers Black agency, brilliance, and solidarity.
It also meant thinking hard about where we go from here. Celebrating 20 years wasn’t just about looking back—it was about asking how we evolve to meet this moment. That meant being more intentional about accessibility, wellness, and intergenerational dialogue, and it meant ensuring that the conference reflected a range of Black voices, not just those in “elite” institutions.
What do you hope attendees took away from the conference?
I hope attendees left the conference feeling both energized and grounded. Our theme, “Reclaim, Empower, Strategize, Transform,” was a framework for how we approached the entire weekend. We wanted people to walk away not only with new ideas, but with space to pause and reflect. In a world that constantly demands output, especially from Black leaders and thinkers, making room for rest and restoration felt like a necessary intervention. We were intentional about creating moments where people could breathe, connect, and feel seen.
At the same time, I hope the conference pushed attendees to think more about the systems they’re part of and how they move through those spaces. Whether someone is a student, policymaker, activist, or community member, I hope the experience offered both affirmation and challenge: affirmation that their voice matters, and challenge to imagine what’s possible when we center care, strategy, and transformation—not just urgency.
What do you see as the most urgent policy issues impacting Black communities today?
Black communities continue to face systemic inequities across every major policy area—housing, health care, education, and economic opportunity, just to name a few. But what ties these issues together is the lack of democratic control over the systems that govern our lives. We often face policies that are made about us, not with us or by us. That disconnect leads to solutions that are out of touch and, at times, harmful.
So, while the specific issues are urgent, the most important shift we need is structural. We need policies that don’t just address disparities but redistribute power. That means supporting community ownership, investing in local infrastructure, ensuring accountability in public systems, and designing policy processes that are inclusive and transparent. Without that shift in who has power, policy changes risk being superficial.
“In a world that constantly demands output, especially from Black leaders and thinkers, making room for restoration felt like a necessary intervention. We were intentional about creating moments where people could breathe, connect, and feel seen.”
What policy ideas are emerging from younger Black activists and scholars that could shape the next decade?
Younger Black thinkers are entering the policy space with clarity and intention. Many of the ideas they are working with, such as community land trusts, universal basic income, cooperative economics, and abolition, have been around for a long time. What stands out is how they’re picking up these ideas and pushing them forward through organizing, storytelling, and creative tools like TikTok. They are not focused on surface-level reforms. They are asking deeper questions about how systems are built and who benefits from them.
One of the most inspiring parts of the conference this year was seeing high school and undergraduate students take part with confidence and purpose. They came with thoughtful questions, strong perspectives, and a willingness to engage. They weren’t just there to observe—they were participating and pushing the conversation forward. Their presence reminded me that leadership is not about age or credentials. It is about commitment, curiosity, and vision. Young people are already moving the work forward, and it is our responsibility to support them and make room for what they are building.
How does this conference fit into your academic and professional goals?
The conference brought together a lot of what I care about: creating space for real conversations, building with community, and pushing policy work to reflect the complexity of people’s lived experiences. It wasn’t just an academic exercise. It was a chance to apply what I’ve learned at HKS in a way that felt grounded and real. Coordinating across a team, managing logistics, and making sure the experience felt meaningful for attendees taught me a lot about leadership and collaboration in high-stakes settings.
Before coming to HKS, I worked in Washington, D.C. as a policy researcher focused on economic justice and workforce development. That experience gave me a look into how disconnected policy conversations can be from the people most affected. This conference felt like a corrective to that, to bring people into the conversation who are usually left out, and to approach policy with care and clarity. That’s the kind of work I want to keep doing.
Photos courtesy of Winston Tang
