Celebrate Diversity Month: Centering Black voices, nurturing authentic relationships and building community

By Dr. Cass Bowers and Simone Smith

As DEI initiatives across the country retreat from their “long walk through the institutions,” we have decided not to mourn.

In the afterglow of 2020, promises were made and donations were given. 

Having come from long lines of Black farmers who were promised 40 acres and a mule–an institutional promise that was revoked– we were skeptical of 2020’s displays of racial reconciliation. These new promises and budget line items have either been retracted or rescinded altogether.

Now in 2025, our history, narratives, and progress are under attack. From book bans and attacks on DEI to politicians trying to divide us by race and class, there’s a coordinated effort to silence our voices and dismantle the progress we’ve fought for and won.

We’re disappointed, but not surprised. 

Let us be clear: our multiracial democracy has always depended on Black communities' leadership, resilience, and contributions. We must always center Black voices and communities this month and every other. When we demand policies that uplift Black communities, we fight for policies that strengthen our communities.

We want values that represent our commitment to each other. One of the African American Roundtable’s values is authentic relationships, defined as “an active state of working to ensure that one another feels cared for, able to be vulnerable, and communicate a need for care, even in conflict.” 

If we apply a litmus test to the organizations that pledged solidarity to Black people in 2020, did they approach nonprofit organizations with authentic relationships in mind? Or was it just the latest iteration of corporate do-nothing?

If there is a path forward, we urge organizations with still-active DEI statements, to reexamine their relationships. Are they authentic, or are they for optics only? To borrow legitimacy for panel discussions, brunches, and dialogue sessions? Or do they care about evaluating how they aid advancement for intentionally marginalized people?

Now is an opportunity for your organization–and the people who run it– to question its motives and how it engages with marginalized communities, and examine if it's been a driver or a doorstop to progress for Black people. While 2020 was a year most won’t forget, what many of us won’t forget is the abandonment in the years following.

Let us focus on building community power together. Because when we come together—Black, Indigenous, marginalized communities, urban and rural, working-class and middle-class—we are unstoppable, and our history always has been and always will be intertwined.

Simone Smith is a mom, member of and Board Treasurer for AART, philanthropy professional, writer, and engaged citizen.

Dr. Cass Bowers is the Executive Director of All in Wisconsin, a communications organization that centers Black, Indigenous and marginalized communities, disrupts dog whistles, and provides a narrative foundation to win racial justice.