As we mark May—a month dedicated to both Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage (AANHPI) and National Historic Preservation—we find ourselves confronting a stark reminder of why cultural preservation and community resistance matter more than ever.
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As we mark May—a month dedicated to both Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage (AANHPI) and National Historic Preservation—we find ourselves confronting a stark reminder of why cultural preservation and community resistance matter more than ever.
Just days ago, hundreds of arts organizations across the country received devastating news: their National Endowment for the Arts grants have been abruptly canceled, with the Trump administration proposing to eliminate the agency entirely.
We want to be clear: The assault on cultural funding isn't merely a budget decision—it's an attempt to control which stories get told, which histories are preserved, and which communities' voices are amplified in our national narrative. Preservation and cultural expression become battlegrounds for the soul of our democracy when the work of artists, cultural bearers, and art institutions is deemed unworthy of support.
In this moment, narrative and cultural organizing become essential strategies for resistance and transformation. By bringing communities together through creative expression, Cultural Week of Action 2025 will leverage cultural power to build the solidarity and collective imagination we need to envision and create more just futures.
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Today's threats to arts funding and cultural expression echo historical patterns of erasure that AANHPI communities have long resisted:
- In response to discriminatory immigration laws, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese American communities fostered resilience by establishing their own newspapers, cultural organizations, and community archives.
- When Japanese American history was threatened with erasure after internment, community members fought to preserve camp sites as national historic landmarks, transforming places of trauma into powerful educational spaces that ensure these injustices are never forgotten.
- Native Hawaiian protectors of sacred sites like Mauna Kea demonstrate that cultural preservation is inseparable from governance and self-determination.
- Filipino American documentation of agricultural labor organizing ensures that histories of multiracial solidarity remain vital references for contemporary movements. (Source: )
Join us on Thursday, May 29 for "Cultural Sustainability: Protecting the Assets and Narrative of Our Multiracial Democracy through Preservation," a webinar exploring how preservation advances justice, belonging, and narrative power in policy and community life.
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A look back at Trump's first 100 days in office
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One hundred days into the 47th U.S. Presidency, the administration's actions have been detrimental to several of our nation's communities. Race Forward President Glenn Harris joined The Daily Drum on WHUR 96.3 FM to discuss the impact so far and what to expect moving forward.
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Your Rage Is Justified, But Don’t Forget Who You’re Fighting
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In our fight against authoritarianism, we need each other now more than ever. In his latest for NewsOne, Race Forward Executive Vice President Eric Ward speaks to the political exploitation of antisemitism in this moment, the dangers of movement fracture, and why principled partnership is critical to defending democracy.
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SOURCE: Bryan Dozier/Getty
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Apply for Our 2025-26 Policy Innovation Lab Cohort
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Are you part of a coalition working to transform policy at the intersections of race and climate justice? Through the Policy Innovation Lab, Race Forward creates a space where coalitions can collaborate, strategize, and develop approaches that position impacted communities as decision-makers over policies that directly affect their lives.
See how your coalition can join our 2025-26 cohort, where you'll engage with like-minded groups to support active policy campaigns.
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#RaceAnd Cultural Sustainability — Thursday, May 29
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Sustainability often focuses on environmental resources; however, cultural sustainability is also needed to protect the stories, spaces, and creative legacies that define our collective humanity. These choices shape how future generations understand identity, justice, and belonging.
Our next #RaceAnd event will explore preservation through the lens of racial equity. Join us for a discussion with speakers who bring cross-sector insights from federal service, cultural heritage, and narrative strategy. Together, they’ll examine how preservation can be a tool for justice—and how we shape the legacies we leave behind.
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Learning Lab: Reimagining Research for Racial Justice — June 11
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Historically and currently, research has been framed as an objective process and has been used to harm communities, justify racial inequities, and uphold oppressive systems. However, communities have engaged with a range of research methods that are rooted in liberatory movement practices.
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Join us for our next Learning Lab, Reimagining Research for Racial Justice. This one-time, three-hour training will introduce frameworks for using research towards racial justice by centering community needs and movement strategies that build power.
By the end of this training, participants will:
- Build deeper reflective racial equity practice as researchers
- Apply a values-driven action research framework that draws from movement strategies
- Translate values to principles to tangible practices across methods and during different stages of the research process
- Discuss and apply anti-racist and liberatory research ethics and principles, tools, and resources for critical methodologies
- Discuss and apply new insights for the role of research in contributing to building community power and impacting the material conditions for those most impacted by oppressive systems.
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Cultural Power for Change!
From the Freedom Songs of the Civil Rights Movement to storytelling from the Indigenous Land Back Movement to the murals of the Black Lives Matter movement, cultural organizing has always been central to advancing justice.
Today, we face coordinated efforts to control narratives, erase histories of resistance, and suppress our voices. Our response must be equally coordinated.
Just Narratives for Multiracial Solidarity, the anchor event of Cultural Week of Action 2025, is bringing together communicators, cultural workers, and movement builders to build on this legacy and create the narrative and cultural power needed for this moment.
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Racial justice isn't history. Racial justice is happening every day.
Shop online at our new store and choose from an array of products like shirts, water canteens, hats, and sweaters. No matter the weather, we make history together!
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Subscribe to The Fire We Face Newsletter
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The Fire We Face is a newsletter for those committed to protecting democracy, racial equity, and public service in the face of systemic threats. As we monitor the Trump Administration’s embrace of Project 2025 and other anti-democratic, racist initiatives, The Fire We Face will document actions targeting federal agencies and civil servants striving to serve the public equitably. Through in-depth analysis, reflections, and tangible examples, this newsletter aims to empower readers with the knowledge to understand and navigate these challenges.
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Follow us on Bluesky!
Given the current political climate and our declining engagement on Twitter, we have made the decision to remain inactive on Twitter until further notice.
To keep the conversation going, we encourage you to join us on Bluesky. Be a part of an ever-growing network of racial justice advocates as we continue to share engaging content that moves the needle to a just, multiracial democracy.
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John, what we preserve today shapes what we can build tomorrow. When we maintain control of our histories and cultural expressions, we aren't just resisting erasure—we're creating the conditions for a vibrant, just multiracial democracy where all communities can thrive with purpose and power, regardless of which way political winds blow.
In solidarity,
Race Forward
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Services for Organizations
Race Forward is committed to transformational, sustainable change for racial justice. We provide services to help organizations develop and advance racially equitable policies and practices.
Our services are developed and delivered by a multiracial and multigenerational team of experts with extensive knowledge and experience in various areas, including policy and program development, leadership development and strategic coaching, community organizing, and racial equity.
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