Notes from the Frontlines highlights the stories, needs, and solidarity of organizations on the frontlines in the struggle for a multiracial and equitable democracy in the United States. Each installment will explore how organizations are responding to the current political landscape—and what the entire nonprofit and philanthropic ecosystem can do to support them.
This summer, I moderated a session for the OCA National Convention in Detroit about the legacies of 9/11 and the War on Terror with leaders from Black, Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian (BAMEMSA) communities.
What struck me throughout our conversation is how familiar it felt, even though 25 years have passed since the horrific attacks of 9/11 and the beginning of a domestic and global War on Terror.
The organizations that mobilized in the wake of 9/11 were never intended to spend a generation or more operating in constant emergency.
Dr. Seydi Sarr from the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs (ABISA) shared that her staff and volunteers operate in emergency mode to address the survival needs of community members who face deportation and travel bans. Harman Singh of the Sikh Coalition—created on the night of September 11, 2001—spoke about how the issues facing Sikh communities have evolved to include transnational repression, denials of asylum claims, and unfair licensing requirements impacting Sikh truck drivers. Rima Meroueh, the director of the National Network of Arab American Communities (NNAAC), shared that many BAMEMSA community members are concerned about backlash after engaging in constitutionally-protected activities.
The experiences of these Detroit leaders leading BAMEMSA organizations are not unique or isolated. Just a decade after 9/11, a White nationalist barged into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, killing six congregants and wounding several others. In 2017, the Muslim ban became one of the first executive orders signed by the Trump administration, emboldening Islamophobia and xenophobia. By 2026, the attacks on people advocating on behalf of Palestinian human rights, investigations of civil society groups using national security policy, and the Muslim and African bans were dominating news headlines.
And just four months before the 25th anniversary of 9/11, two teenagers espousing hateful beliefs killed three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego and terrorized young children attending school nearby.
Philanthropic responses have tended to provide episodic funding through short-term, project-based support that does not sustain organizational capacity over time.
Post 9/11 policies and narratives have evolved over the past 25 years, affecting even more communities while reinforcing familiar patterns of exclusion and scapegoating. What began as frontline response 25 years ago has become a consistent feature of organizational life today.
But the organizations that mobilized in the wake of 9/11 were never intended to spend a generation or more operating in constant emergency. Their experiences should remind us why a long-term infrastructure strategy must accompany rapid response funding and partnerships.
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Philanthropic Responses
While BAMEMSA organizations have adapted and pivoted to meet the moment in creative and collaborative ways, they are often unable to focus on long-term capacity and community building. Often, groups don’t have staff and resources to manage the an organization’s internal functions such as operations, staff trainings, workplace culture, strategic planning, individual donor cultivation, and evaluation.
Philanthropic responses have tended to provide episodic funding through short-term, project-based support that does not sustain organizational capacity over time. For example, in the wake of an act of hate violence, funders provide local organizations with emergency funds to support the range of roles they must take on, from supporting victims’ families to responding to government and media stakeholders to being containers for holding community grief.
Yet after an act of hate violence disappears from the headlines, many of these needs persist, often for months and years.
Building rapid response infrastructure, according to a report from Building Movement Project and Muslims for Just Futures, isn’t just about supporting triage work. It requires investments that will build community power and organizational capacity over the long run. It means investing in operations, leadership and volunteer development, legal and policy advocacy, community healing, and the relationships that allow organizations to coordinate across movements.
Long-term infrastructure also leads to imagination and experimentation through organizing, narrative strategy, and solidarity. For example, Dream of Detroit, rooted in the city’s Black Muslim history, utilizes community organizing, housing development, and access to education and the arts to revitalize neighborhoods. The Center for Arab Narratives (CAN), which operates out of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI, develops research and reports to better understand the needs of Arab and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) communities. Investing in the capacity of BAMEMSA organizations to build new and different futures while being fully prepared to manage crises is critical to ensure their sustainability over the next 25 years.
Understanding the Experiences
During our session in Detroit, solidarity became a recurring theme. Singh noted the importance of efforts that bring various ecosystems together like the South Asian Coalition and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans to share information and seed collaborations. Meroueh reminded the audience to not have unrealistic expectations of internal solidarity given the tremendous diversity inside the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) and MENA communities, but to instead take the time to build relationships and trust slowly and intentionally. And Sarr brought up the importance of collaborating with various stakeholders and coalitions at the national and global levels.
Investing in the capacity of BAMEMSA organizations to build new and different futures while being fully prepared to manage crises is critical to ensure their sustainability over the next 25 years.
When our panel began, I was struck by the familiarity of the responses and experiences of community leaders about operating in rapid response mode. As we closed the conversation, there was a palpable sense of possibility as audience members inquired how to flank BAMEMSA communities and connect the legacies of 9/11 to the present moment.
Understanding the experiences of BAMEMSA organizations over the past quarter century helps us recognize the tremendous impact they have had, while reminding us that they cannot remain locked in a crisis and response cycle. The next 25 years will require targeted resources and the space to build power, strengthen the bonds of solidarity, and imagine new futures for our communities.
