Are you joining us in Baltimore for TFN’s 25th Anniversary Conference: Be Bold Together? Be sure to join us Sunday at 6 p.m. for TFN @ the Movies as we present a timely, thought-provoking documentary as well as a Q&A with those involved in the making of the film.
We’re thrilled to share this year’s selection: Razing Liberty Square, an award-winning documentary about a community in the crosshairs of climate gentrification — and those fighting to save it from being erased in a rapidly changing Miami. Watch the trailer here.
Razing Liberty Square is set in the oldest segregated public housing project in the South: Liberty Square, at the heart of Miami’s Liberty City.
Underserved for decades and suffering from chronic disinvestment, Liberty City has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation.
But as rising seas threaten Miami’s luxurious beachfront, wealthy property owners are pushing inland to higher ground. Liberty City, which sits on a ridge, is now real estate gold.
When residents of Liberty Square learn about a $300 million revitalization plan for their neighborhood, they know that this sudden interest comes from the fact that their neighborhood is located on the highest-and-driest ground in the city.
Now they must prepare to fight a new form of racial injustice: climate gentrification.
We’ll be joined by filmmaker Katja Esson, community leader Valencia Gunder and climate action advocate Caroline Lewis for a panel discussion moderated by TFN’s Tere Figueras Negrete.
TFN @ the Movies is presented with the support of the Wyncote Foundation.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
KATJA ESSON
Film Director
Born in Germany and based in Miami, Katja Esson is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker whose documentaries tackle race, class, and gender. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
VALENCIA GUNDER
Founder and Co-Director
The Smile Trust
Valencia provides coordination and support for diverse, low-wealth communities addressing climate change impacts. She is co-director of the Smile Trust and executive director of the Black Collective and the Freedom Lab. Valencia also founded the Community Emergency Operations Center in Liberty City in the wake of 2018’s Hurricane Irma.
CAROLINE LEWIS
Founder & Senior Advisor
The CLEO Institute
Caroline, an education and engagement strategist, founded The CLEO Institute in 2010. The Florida-based nonpartisan organization is dedicated to climate education, advocacy, and engagement.
TERE FIGUERAS NEGRETE
Senior Communications Director
The Funders Network
Tere has been part of TFN’s leadership team since 2016. Before joining TFN, she spent 15 years as an award-winning writer and editor with the Miami Herald.
ABOUT TFN25
Join us March 17-19 for TFN’s 25th Anniversary Conference: Be Bold Together in Baltimore. We’ll gather at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, located on the Inner Harbor, the city’s historic seaport.
TFN25 offers skill-building workshops, deep-dive strategy sessions and opportunities to forge new connections and expand your professional networks.
We hope you’ll join us for the Post-conference Inclusive Economies and Urban Water Funders Meeting: Leveraging Public Infrastructure Funds from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, immediately following our Closing Plenary and lunch.
➡️Check out our TFN25 Anniversary Conference website to view our Learning Agenda and more.