This year’s speaker is noted social activist Rasheedat Fetuga. Rasheedat is the founder and CEO of Gideon’s Army, a grassroots army for children eliminating the root causes of the Prison pipeline. Rasheedat is a prolific speaker and trainer on youth issues, education, art as activism, social justice, transformative organizing, and restorative justice. 

Mother, teacher, mentor, and acclaimed activist, Rasheedat Fetuga is a visionary with a revolutionary style of leadership and activism that transforms communities through self-empowerment, creativity, healing and love. A birth, adoptive, and surrogate mother of too many children to count, Rasheedat embraces her divine gift for loving and protecting children and has dedicated her life to doing just that. With a reputation for powerful grassroots action, Gideon’s Army embodies a new way of organizing that is both fun and strategic. Using music, song, theater, and dance as a catalyst for Restorative Justice in Nashville, Gideon’s Army led the campaign for Restorative Justice in Metro Nashville Public Schools and birthed the juvenile diversion program for Davidson County Juvenile Courts. In collaboration with a host of government, community, and organization partners, Gideon’s Army is currently using Theater of the Oppressed to spearhead one of the most innovative, community-based restorative justice models in the country. (Information for bio provided by her staff.) About 1/3 of the $9,000 UUA Grant that GNUUC received, that Reverend Cynthia Cain applied for, was given to Gideon’s Army. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speaker.