MOMENTUM Conversation: In Partnership With McKnight Foundation

Rashad Robinson and Tonya Allen engage in the first of our 2026 MOMENTUM conversations at the lifestyle shop, India Rose Collective, on Martha’s Vineyard.

Activist and author, Rashad Robinson, one of our most influential civil rights leaders of the digital era, was in conversation with Tonya Allen, president of  McKnight Foundation at Momentum Summit 2026  on August 11 on Martha’s Vineyard.

The two discussed democracy, voting rights, and how to take the tools we have to forge the future we want. They also discussed Robinson’s new book, From Presence to Power (Penguin Random House), in which he dissects why some movements succeed while others falter.

“Changing times require changing tactics,” Robinson writes in his book, “and being predictable often means being beatable. This moment requires all of us to think differently about how we fight for the future of our country.” He recommends Momentum attendees read chapters 1 and 2 to devise an effective game plan.

The McKnight Foundation was the recipient of the first Momentum Minnesota Award for leadership that advances equity and helps build a more vibrant and equitable Minnesota.

“We have to stop dialoguing

and start negotiating.”

— Rashad Robinson,

Civil Rights Leader & Author

“In 2020, you and I talked about the notion that power is the ability to rewrite the rules.”

— Tonya Allen, President of McKnight Foundation

Three Momentum Takeaways

1: “We have to dissect what it is we need to understand, in this moment, to determine what we need to win.” — Rashad Robinson

2: Invest in  Black-owned businesses like India Rose Collective, where this event was held, and The Strand, host of Momentum Summit events since 2024.

3: Invite forward thinkers like Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League (with Meredith Moore, President of Leverette Weekes).