On March 14 and March 21, 2025 236 students from 19 districts gathered at Hofstra University and St. Joseph’s University to discuss social justice and student voice on Long Island. The conferences were facilitated by 8 high school students who are members of ERASE Racism’s Student Task Force, a group of students from different districts across Long Island that works together to address injustice and foment student-led change. The 19 districts that participated were: Massapequa, Roosevelt, Syosset, Mineola, Hewlett-Woodmere, Malverne, Sewanhaka, Hicksville, Valley Stream, Westbury, Garden City, East Williston, and Freeport (at the Nassau County Conference on March 14) and South Huntington, Half Hollow Hills, Uniondale, Longwood, and South Country (at the Suffolk County Conference on March 21).
The conference opened with a presentation from the 8 Task Force Members about structural injustice on Long Island. The students discussed race as a social construct, Long Island’s history and development, and, most importantly, how this history continues to impact us all today. We then split up into 4 breakout sessions, where the students led their peers through an activity in which participants were asked to come up with visions and dreams about changes they would like to make in their schools and communities. Students were mixed with different districts so that they could discuss and better understand what challenges face students in other districts, and begin to consider how differently a student’s experience might be according to school-district lines.
Next, students returned to the main room, where BLAC Hofstra presented about specific steps students could take to make their visions a reality. The organization’s founder, Favour, shared about all the accomplishments BLAC Hofstra has had on campus, and what strategies and tools they used to get there. Students were then asked to work with their peers from the same district to come up with a plan of action, through which they can actually address the issues and achieve the visions they conceived in their first breakout sessions.
After lunch, the 8 Student Task Force Members participated in a panel, where they spoke about their experiences as student activists, as members of ERASE Racism’s Student Leadership Initiative, and as students on Long Island.
In a post-conference survey, students described their feelings after the conference in a few words: “Educated,” “Empowered,” “heard,” “Motivated,” and “Moved.”
Check out the News 12’s coverage of the Nassau Conference, featuring one of our student leaders, Anisah: Students discover history of racism and its impacts at Hofstra University