Over the past year, amidst the turmoil of social activism and justice uprisings, we found a serendipitous partnership with a matchmaker. During this time of potential and tension, Tynesha and her co-founder launched the Black Feminist Fund, a decade-long dream to support and fund organizations advocating for change. Little did we know then, how beneficial this relationship would turn out to be.
The in-between times
Reflecting on that period, we consider it as the “in-between times.” Following the tragic incidents involving George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, among others, and the subsequent racial justice uprisings in 2020, we observed as organizations, companies, and leaders began to take action. They started challenging systemic injustice and creating programs to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Progress seemed inevitable.
However, this was precisely when things started to fall apart. A few years later, the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action, signaling that the fight against race consciousness in academic settings was just beginning.
Experienced social scientists and activists will tell you that progress always comes with highs (momentum) and lows (pushback). Fast forward to 2024, and this pushback has only amplified. But this is not a sign of failure. On the contrary, it’s proof that we are heading in the right direction. Backlash is a confirmation that you’re making a difference.
Living in a constant state of duality
Today, we find ourselves navigating a complex emotional landscape—living in a constant state of hope and frustration. On one hand, the backlash has made our work more challenging. We find ourselves consulting more attorneys than ever before, trying to preserve the progress we’ve made and strategize on how to continue advocating for racial justice.
Aaron is employed at Zest AI, which uses patented artificial intelligence to accurately assess the creditworthiness of Americans, thereby increasing loan approvals for Latino, Black, and AAPI applicants. This is particularly crucial considering Black and Latinx families represent 64% of the country’s unbanked and 47% of its underbanked households.
Tynesha, like other racial justice fund leaders, is preparing for the impact of the recent Fearless Fund decision, which we anticipated after the repeal of affirmative action. In that case, the Supreme Court applied the Civil Rights Act of 1964—particularly Title VI, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance—to argue that race-conscious admissions practices, even when meant to increase diversity, were exclusionary and thus unlawful.
This reinterpretation of the Civil Rights Act, originally enacted to protect communities of color, has placed racial and gender justice-focused organizations like ours in a compromised position. Ironically, in our ongoing fight for justice, we now face the challenge of proving that our initiatives, focused on advancing equity for Black women and other underrepresented communities, are not discriminatory.
Despite these setbacks, we remain hopeful. There’s hope in the growing number of people who refuse to accept a world rooted in inequality. And while the opposition may seem louder than ever, they’re often just a small, radicalized group trying to preserve a system that benefits them.
Yet, hope requires discipline. Being radically hopeful means actively choosing not to be governed by fear. In many ways, our lives have been a product of hope: We were raised by Black working-class and immigrant families with limited resources. But telling a different story requires courage and consistency.
Leaning on each other
Not every moment is hopeful. It’s deeply frustrating to continue having conversations that we thought we were done having. That’s the beauty of our relationship. We’re aligned in our hope, despite coming at the problem from radically different places. While Aaron works with technology to help people find financial security, Tynesha is focused on redistributing wealth to advance racial and gender equity.
Together, we’ve realized that even in moments of frustration, when it feels like we’re rehashing old arguments and moving backward, these conversations are critical. The backlash is leaving so many people in our community feeling isolated and cynical about whether we will ever build a world that is affirming for us all.
In moments when fear tries to overwhelm hope, we have each other to lean on. In the face of growing opposition to progress, we know the only way to survive and keep hope alive is through community. That’s how we’ll make it through this moment—and how, despite the resistance, our hope for a more just world continues to grow stronger.
More must-read commentary published by Fortune:
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
