How do we build a better, freer, more just world? That’s the question on the table at 21 For ’21: Visions For a Feminist Future.

In five days of programming leading up to a virtual gathering on May 18, The Meteor brought together a cross-generational group of leaders, activists, artists, and special guests—all sharing their vision for gender equity and a better future for women, girls, and nonbinary people in 2021 and beyond.

21 For ’21 featured visionary leaders including Joy Buolamwini, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Dr. Silvia Federici, Travon Free, Roxane Gay, Ilana Glazer, Amanda Gorman, Meena Harris, Gloria Steinem, and more. The program included conversations, short films, performances, and monologues on issues from climate change to immigration to disability rights to caregiving—because every issue is a feminist issue.

The all-star lineup also featured: Hafsat Abiola, Rumaitha Al Busaidi, Regan Aliyah, Farai Chideya, Lana Condor, Sage Dolan-Sandrino, Maryangel Garcia-Ramos Guadiana, Angel Harris, Maria Hinojosa, Eileen Huang, Andrea James,  Alexis McGill Johnson, S. Mitra Kalita, Sabah Khodir, Andraéa LaVant, Cindi Leive, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Francia Márquez, Shantell Martin, Madison McFerrin, Paola Mendoza, Yume Morimoto, Amanda Nguyễn, Chani Nicholas, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Phillip Picardi, Liz Plank, Lorella Praeli, Emily Ramshaw, Chelsea Jackson Roberts, Reshma Saujani, Kulsum Shadab Wahab, Sonal Shah, DeLanna Studi, Noor Tagouri, Jasmine Wahi, and Raquel Willis.  

The event also featured The 21 For ’21 Syllabus, presented by The Meteor Fund. In it, 21 visionary thinkers share works they believe point the way to a better, more feminist tomorrow. Contributors include Alicia Garza, Phoebe Robinson, Jose Antonio Vargas, and more, recommending materials from W.E.B. Du Bois to Whoopi Goldberg.

Watch some of the highlights of 21 For ’21 below:

Activist, host of UNDISTRACTED, and MSNBC contributor Brittany Packnett Cunningham sat down with writer, comedian and Oscar-winning director Travon Free—who talked about masculinity and its constraints, especially, he says, for Black men.

 

Everything that went wrong this year for working parents and caregivers? She predicted it. In this conversation, Reshma Saujani, founder of Marshall Plan for Moms, sat down with legendary activist Dr. Silvia Federici, co-founder of the Wages for Housework movement of the 1970s. Their discussion is revelatory—and might forever change how you see the “labor of love” women give to their families.

 

In a year of trauma and momentum in the AAPI community, how are women using their platforms to draw attention to AAPI women, girls and nonbinary people? That was the subject at hand during a roundtable with actress and producer Lana Condor, 2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Rise founder and CEO Amanda Nguyễn, and founding president of The Asian American Foundation Sonal Shah, as they sat down with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The group covered women’s leadership, allyship, and what we don’t learn about AAPI history.⁠

 

2021 inaugural poet Amanda Gorman joined writer and activist Gloria Steinem in a conversation about the five words they each hope to use more in the future, from “intersectional” (Gorman’s first choice) to “spaceship earth.” (Steinem will explain!) Listen in.

 

What will it take to change the world? For Francia Márquez, legendary environmental activist and now Colombian presidential candidate, the answer starts at the top. Director and activist Paola Mendoza sat down with Márquez to hear about her impassioned—and dangerous—fight for her country.

 

Rapper and entertainer Regan Aliyah performed her original song written for 21 For ’21, “The Future,” and shared her hopes for a “fully inclusive feminist future.”

 

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has a simple truth for all of us: “Being a big pain in the ass is how things change.” Let her explain.

21 For ‘21 is a project of The Meteor, and is presented by CHIME FOR CHANGE, Gucci’s global campaign for gender equality.

The 21 For ’21 Syllabus is produced by The Meteor Fund, an affiliated charitable project of The Meteor, which is fiscally sponsored by New Venture Fund.