Speaking

THOSE MOST AFFECTED BY THE CONVERSATION ARE RARELY INCLUDED IN THE DISCUSSION, SO MY WORK BEGINS BY BRINGING THOSE VOICES INTO THE ROOM.

Speaking, for me, is about creating the kind of conversation that stays with people after the room empties. Most of what is accepted as truth about marginalized and stigmatized groups was not written by the people within those groups. I believe we have to interrogate that. I want audiences to question what they assume, consider whose perspective may be missing, and leave seeing familiar problems differently.

Austin T. Wyatt Sr. speaking at the National Civil Rights Museum

National Civil Rights Museum · Memphis, TN · 2025

What I Bring to the Room

YOU UNDERSTAND SYSTEMS DIFFERENTLY WHEN YOU'VE EXPERIENCED THEIR CONSEQUENCES.

My perspective has been shaped by experiencing systems personally, studying them academically, and working within them professionally. Each position reveals something different. Lived experience taught me where systems can fail people. Research taught me how to ask why. Public service taught me what it takes to change them. When I speak, I bring all three into the room.

Signature Keynote

WHAT THE ROOM LOOKS LIKE FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE

What changes when the people most affected by systems are no longer simply the subject of the conversation, but part of shaping it? Drawing from lived experience, research, and public service, Austin challenges audiences to examine whose knowledge we value, whose voices we overlook, and how our understanding of public safety changes when we make room for perspectives from the other side of the table.

Additional Speaking Topics

CENTERING VOICES IN PUBLIC SAFETY

How centering the voices of communities most impacted by public safety systems can move us beyond enforcement-only approaches toward relationships, healing, opportunity, trust, and meaningful engagement.

BLACK MEN, POLICING & SYSTEMS

What the stories Black men tell about police and institutions reveal about trust, legitimacy, identity, and public safety.

LIVED EXPERIENCE & LEADERSHIP

What changes when people who have experienced systems gain the knowledge, access, and authority to help reshape them.

Austin in the Room
Austin T. Wyatt Sr. speaking at the American Society of Criminology conference
Austin T. Wyatt Sr. speaking during a discussion at the American Society of Criminology conference

American Society of Criminology · Atlanta, GA · 2022

Speaking Engagements

FOR ROOMS READY TO HAVE A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.

Austin speaks with audiences willing to examine public safety, systems, leadership, and community from perspectives that are too often missing from the conversation. His talks are designed for spaces where people are not simply looking for answers, but are willing to question the assumptions behind the answers they already have.