City Awake Embraces the Fierce Urgency of Now with Six-Day FUNinBOS Festival Focused on Millennials of Color September 2025
August 21, 2018
“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time […] to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
This bold call to action by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. rings true as much today as it did in 1963. At City Awake, we’re embracing these words as the inspiration behind our newest program: the Fierce Urgency of Now millennials of Color Festival (FUN).
What is FUN? Let’s back up for a minute.
Last year, we worked with the Boston Foundation to produce our City of Millennials Report. The goal was to learn more about this important group that makes up more than 34% of our city’s population. In fact, Boston has the highest concentration of millennials among the 25 largest US cities, and our city’s young talent is a major competitive advantage for the business community. We learned a lot about our millennials population, including some not surprising challenges associated with affordability and housing. But the report told us that these challenges are even more acute for millennials of color. Add a persistent reputation for being an unwelcoming city for people of color, and Boston looks less and less attractive to young people of color looking for a place to start and grow their careers or businesses.
So, we wanted to do something about it, and FUN is our first step at moving from conversation to action.
FUN is a six-day festival designed to highlight the experiences, challenges and possibilities for millennials of color in Boston. We put a call out to local organizations to join us by hosting an event and the response was overwhelming. FUN attendees can choose from more than 40 different programs, all aimed at creating a community where big topics can be tackled, connections can be made, and fun will be had.
The events fall under three tracks:
- Enrich: events that deal with arts, culture, and entertainment
- Lead: events for leadership development and skills building
- Serve: events focused on civic engagement and community service
View all festival events and register
While the event deals with the topic of millennials of color, we know we need all minds at the table to solve some of the challenges facing this important population. So this event is open for all who want to make Boston a more welcoming and inclusive city.
In Partnership With
