Chris Crass is a nationally recognized author and speaker who helps communities in higher education and K-12 develop anti-racist values and commitment for racial justice and gender justice. His passion is working with students, faculty and staff to connect to their deepest values, overcome divisions, and act with love and courage for racial justice. Chris’ powerful talks and workshops address lessons from past justice movements, and how a vision of collective liberation can move us into effective action.
Chris has provided professional development for staff and faculty at a wide range of K-12 schools and districts and in higher education. He focuses on developing literacy, and leadership for anti-racism and feminism with an emphasis on developing culture that helps bring people into the work, connects with core values and purpose and aligns goals for positive impacts on the lives of faculty, students, families and the larger community. Using a popular education approach influenced by Paulo Freire and the Highlander Center in Tennessee, Chris uses people’s own experiences, hopes, worries and values to develop literacy, resilience and courage for anti-racism and racial justice.
As a speaker, Chris' use of humor, storytelling, and historical examples connects with audiences and inspires them to open their minds and hearts to not only the injustices we face, but the work needed to make change. He uses his own experiences and historical examples to help audiences feel connected to a living legacy of work for racial justice and gives them tools and support to get involved.
Chris is the author of two books. His latest, Towards the "Other America:" Anti-Racist Resources for White People Taking Action for Black Lives Matter, a call to action to end white silence and a manual on how to do it. His other book, Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis, and Movement Building Strategy, draws from his over 25 years as an organizer and educator and offers a firsthand look at the challenges and opportunities of anti-racist work in white communities, feminist work with men, and bringing women of color feminism into the heart of social justice. Chris' essays have been translated into half a dozen languages, taught in hundreds of classrooms, and included in over a dozen anthologies.
Professional Staff Keynotes and Workshops
Chris’ professional development talks and workshops are geared to create a healthier culture, a culture of support and encouragement, with the goal of catalyzing both personal work and system work to be connected, meaningful, and impactful. Chris helps people place their work in a systemic understanding of supremacy systems to analyze how supremacy systems purposefully create culture and dynamics of dysfunction, disempowerment, disappointment and defeat in efforts for racial equity and justice.
As he brings a systemic analysis into the work, Chris focuses on “what can be
done”, “where do we have power and influence”, “who can help make what happen”, and “what shifts would have the impacts we want”. While still supporting people to identify personal areas for growth, his emphasis is on creating culture and leadership that contextualizes and roots the personal work, in systems change.
Keynotes and Workshops for K-12 Schools and Districts
Chris has worked with public and independent Schools around the country to offer talks and workshops for K-12 faculty, staff, students and families. Using a popular education approach influenced by Paulo Freire and the Highlander Center in Tennessee, Chris uses people’s own experiences, hopes, worries and values to develop literacy, resilience and courage for anti-racism and racial justice. Through personal storytelling, presentation of historical and systemic analysis, Chris helps participants to express their values. His primary goal is to support and develop culture and leadership to advance the goals of anti-racism and racial justice in the school and larger community.
Being an Ally for Social Justice
While awareness of power, privilege and oppression is growing on campuses and in many of our communities, the question “what can I do” persists. Using stories from his own experience as a white person coming into consciousness about racism and as a man coming into awareness of sexism, Chris takes people on a journey that many can relate to, yet few speak openly about. Sharing openly and honestly, with humanity and humility, about the often painful experience of becoming aware of one’s privilege, and the awkward confusion of trying to figure out what to do, Chris invites participants to explore their own journey and helps them develop frameworks and practical next steps to become allies. For Chris, the work of an ally isn’t just to work to end the injustices impacting others, but to work against supremacy systems that pit us against each other, suffocate our full humanity, and undermine democracy and economic justice for all.
Beyond White Fragility: Developing Anti-Racist Resilience and Culture on Our Campuses and In Our Communities
The call and need for stronger racial justice values and action on our campuses and in our communities is clear. While there is much needed discussion about white fragility and white silence getting in the way, there is also a need to develop anti-racist resilience, courage and leadership. In this interactive talk, Chris creates an invitational discussion that helps people new or reluctant to these conversations, to participate, while also being a space for learning and growth for those who have long been part of these conversations. This is an opportunity to develop a stronger culture of inspiration, resilience, and courage for racial justice. While one of the themes of the talk is on white people working for racial justice, the overall theme is on how we can build stronger racial justice values and culture on our campuses and in our communities.
Which Way Forward: White Nationalism or Multiracial Democracy
We are living in monumental times which are, in many ways, a battle between the worldviews and values of white nationalism and multiracial democracy. Drawing on the historical development of racism in the United States, Chris explores the ways that white identity politics have been used to instill animosity, resentment and fear in white communities against communities of color. He further looks at how white identity politics have both been used to mobilize white communities against Civil Rights and multiracial democracy, while also maintaining massive economic and political inequality that hurts many in white communities. Chris also draws upon the long history of social justice movements to create and expand multiracial democracy and economic justice. He invites us all to consider our choices and actions as the future of our country is at stak
Let’s All Get Free: Toxic Masculinity, Ending Rape Culture, and Why Men Need Feminism Too
Boys are raised to “act like a man,” suppressing all emotions other then anger. They are taught to take control, which often means dominating others. Men are encouraged, in a sexist society, to possess and disrespect women and treat anything feminine as less than. Institutional gender inequity and the epidemic of sexual assault, rape, and sexism on our campuses and in our communities must end. In this presentation, Chris Crass encourages men to take up this work for gender equity and to help create healthy communities, healthy relationships, and get free from the damage and pain that toxic masculinity creates for all of us.
