Thank you all who came and shared in Claiming Williams Day this year! We hope you enjoyed a variety of events and went to bed feeling more connected, empowered, inspired or at peace. We would appreciate feedback on how we can ensure next year’s Claiming Williams is as good, if not even more engaging, next year. Please fill out this form—thank you!
**************************************************************************
Claiming Williams 2025: Braiding our Interconnected Futures
Thursday, February 6, 2025

“The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual.” (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass).
Our theme explores the intricacies of braiding, and we invite all members of the community to consider our individual and collective relationships to people, spaces, technology, and the natural world.
What innovative insights emerge when diverse fields intertwine their expertise for mutual benefit? How do shared stories and traditions create opportunities for reciprocal cultural exchange? How can we build networks of support and solidarity across different social justice movements? How are our identities both distinct and intertwined to form a stronger, cohesive self? How do we define, understand, and connect the strands from various sectors, cultures, ways of being, and ways of knowing in our community?
In coming together, we honor the individual, the collective, and deep collaboration.
Photos and Highlights
- Claiming Williams 2025 photo album, including keynote speakers and sessions
- Robin Wall Kimmerer book signing photo album (downloadable)
- Claiming Williams 2025 YouTube Playlist, including session highlights and keynote presentations
2025 Keynotes
Bringing Ben Home: A Murder, Conviction and Fight to Redeem American Justice with Barbara Bradley Hagerty and Ben Spencer
Embodied Social Justice: Standing for your Principles with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
An Evening with Robin Wall Kimmerer
*Please note this video is only available for viewing through Thursday, February 20, 2025.*
A Brief History
Claiming Williams was born after a series of racist and sexist incidents in January 2008 sparked a grassroots student movement that was joined by staff and faculty, and became known as Stand with Us. The hope was that the community would work proactively to prevent hurtful, hateful incidents, rather than just responding afterward.
The College celebrated the first Claiming Williams Day on February 5, 2009. Read more on the Mission & History and Archive pages.
Claiming Williams Day
Claiming Williams Day occurs on the first Thursday of the Spring semester. Classes are suspended and the campus engages in events and discussions about building and sustaining a more inclusive community. Claiming Williams Day takes shape around proposals generated by students, staff, and faculty.
We urge you to get involved – by serving on the Claiming Williams Committee, by proposing an event, or by participating in the events of the day. The Claiming Williams Steering Committee is eager to assist members of the community who want to propose an event or discussion: please contact us if you have an idea.
Mission Statement
Claiming Williams invites the community to acknowledge and understand the uncomfortable reality that not all students, staff, and faculty can equally “claim” Williams. By challenging the effects of the College’s history of inequality that are based on privileges of class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and religion, we will provoke individual, institutional, and cultural change.