Philadelphia just witnessed the birth of a bold new movement for justice reform.
From June 9–12, the inaugural JustUs Ideas Week transformed the City of Brotherly Love into a national hub for innovation, policy, and storytelling led by justice-impacted voices. With over 2,500 attendees from 79 cities and 33 states, the event — part think tank, part cultural festival — marked a major step forward in how justice-impacted communities are shaping the national conversation.
Headliners like Angela Yee, Beanie Sigel, Maino, and Angie Martinez joined a powerful lineup of organizers, artists, scholars, elected officials, and innovators in what organizers are calling a “living ecosystem” for sustained social change.
“This platform was created to bring people like me — people too often shut out of the rooms where policy is shaped — into direct conversation with the organizers, researchers, policymakers, and innovators driving solutions,” said Marvin Bing, cultural strategist, activist, and founder of JustUs Ideas Week. “We’re not here to tell sob stories. We’re here to design the future.”
Bing, whose personal story includes growing up with an incarcerated father, a mother lost to gun violence, and time in the foster care system, built the festival as a response to a system in need of radical imagination — led by those closest to its impact.
A Week of Innovation, Inspiration, and Action
Held across venues including the Community College of Philadelphia and the Sheraton Downtown, the event delivered programming that was as dynamic as it was diverse:
- A Bard Prison Initiative Debate on fair wages for incarcerated workers
- A “Shark Tank”-style pitch session for justice-impacted entrepreneurs seeking capital
- A Democracy Forum featuring currently serving formerly incarcerated legislators
- A Gun Violence Advocacy Symposium centering lived experience in policy
- Youth forums for 18–24 year-olds with foster care or juvenile justice involvement
Topics ranged from AI and criminal justice reform to prosecutorial accountability, reentry, trauma, and economic empowerment.
Notable speakers included Kemba Smith, Yusuf Salaam (of the Exonerated Five), Michelle West, Tony Lewis, Sean Ellis, and Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing actor and advocate), along with Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner and acclaimed poet and playwright Lemon Andersen.
Not Just a Moment — A Movement
Backed by partners like JustLeadershipUSA, iHeartRadio, the Bard Prison Initiative, Columbia University’s Center for Justice, and NOMO Foundation, JustUs Ideas Week is already planning next steps — with a Marvel Cinematic Universe-style rollout of events and initiatives designed to build power nationwide.
Confirmed expansion plans include:
- A Policy & Legislative Summit during One Music Fest in Atlanta this October
- A Food & Art Festival integrated into Art Basel Miami in December
- A Civic Engagement Training Institute launching in New York ahead of the 2026 elections
These satellite events will extend the ecosystem launched in Philly, supporting justice-impacted communities through arts, policy, business, and direct action.
Building the Future — Together
“What happened in Philadelphia was historic — not just because of the scale, but because of who was leading it,” said Bing. “This is what systemic change looks like when it’s built with and from community, not imposed on it.”
JustUs Ideas Week didn’t just challenge the traditional justice reform narrative — it replaced it. With a model rooted in authenticity, collaboration, and unapologetic ambition, it’s setting the tone for what’s next.
And if the week’s turnout, energy, and ideas are any sign — this is just the beginning.