ISDI Community Coalition for Sustainable Diversity & Inclusion.

The Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion (ISDI) personally invites you to join our community coalition to fight the ongoing pushback on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging. 

We know that Diversity represents the future of this country—the question is whether that Diversity is going to be included or excluded in American life.  

What should we, as leaders, organizations, and community stakeholders, be doing to guarantee that a pluralistic, multiracial, multicultural democracy survives?

The Burning Platform: A DEIA Community Coalition Blueprint for Action

Overview

Over the past few years, the assault on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives and programs has taken a multi-pronged approach. Critiques have framed DEIA as reverse discrimination, ideological indoctrination, or needless identity-politics, rather than as remedial efforts to address historical and current inequities.

At the institutional level, conservative-led efforts have ranged from state legislation and governmental actions banning DEIA spending or offices in public universities, to federal executive actions dismantling DEIA programs in government agencies. 

In the private sector, many companies have scaled back or eliminated DEIA initiatives in response to legal pressure, political backlash, and concerns about reputational risk — signaling a broader retreat in the corporate commitment to DEIA. 

This attack on DEIA is aggressive and pervasive – with adverse effects on individuals, families, communities, schools/colleges/universities, businesses, and non-profits. The attack is institutional, governmental, and corporate. 

We believe DEIA professionals and their allies must come together to provide a counter-force to go on the OFFENSIVE to combat these destructive elements. This will lead to a new rescoping and redefining of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility for the future.

To that end, ISDI has launched the Community Coalition for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion.  

OUR PURPOSE:  We stand together to champion diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility… through courageous communication, connected communities, and our Coalition that won’t back down

OUR POSITION:  The Community Coalition for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion helps members move from reactive, isolated survival mode to strategic, sustainable, collective power. 

To accomplish this purpose, we have identified four Immediate Action Goals. We invite volunteers from the community to join any of the four teams to help implement these goals.   

Four Immediate Action Goals

 The following four top Action Goals derive from the input of those who attended several early meetings to convene the Coalition in the summer and fall of 2025: 

• Create Rapid and Agile Response Communications
• Create a Resource and Referral Bank
• Outreach to Next Generations
• Continue Building the Coalition

 We invite members from the larger community of DEIA professionals and interested community members at all levels to lend your voices and your elbows to build this Coalition to support transformative, sustainable strategies for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging.  

If you believe America’s strength is a viable multiracial, multicultural democracy, we encourage you to join this Coalition and contribute to a collective effort that is stronger than any one of us alone. Learn more about the four Action Teams below that are underway in carrying out the four Action Goals.

#1: Create Rapid & Agile Response Communications

Why: The Coalition’s goal is to mobilize quickly to counteract the influence of groups that are strategically organized and relentlessly spreading misinformation about DEIA. 

#2: Create a Resource & Referral Bank

Why: The Coalition’s goal is to equip and empower its members and all stakeholders with the resources and tools, trusted experts, and rapid-response support they need to strengthen their organizations, effectively counter anti-DEIA pushback, promote inclusive practices, and sustain the Coalition’s work with confidence and clarity.

#3: Outreach to Next Generations 

Why: Engaging the Next Generations is essential because they are a rapidly growing employee and voting bloc whose digital influence, cultural power, community reach, and economic choices will define the future of democracy and inclusion. Their values and choices will shape DEIA strategy across workplaces, education, technology, and public policy. They will determine how organizations respond to cultural shifts, how communities mobilize, and where money, talent, and investment flow.  By equipping them with credible information, mentorship, and civic engagement tools, we unleash their power to counter misinformation and help build an inclusive future that reflects their voice, their vision, and the principles of DEIA.

#4: Continue Building the Coalition

Why: DEIA is not on hold, it is not “over,” it marches forward in the society and the culture without restraint. Continuing to build this Coalition is essential as we march into the future. It unites our collective strength and creates an idea engine fueled by DEIA thought—organic, scalable, and powered by diverse perspectives that drive innovation. Together, we can counter anti-DEIA attacks with coordinated force, shared resources, and a stronger, more resilient voice than any one organization or individual could produce alone.

“We cannot change the world all at once, but we can change the way we think. We can clear away the clichés, and make ourselves more lively. We can work together, and then, when other things are in motion, be ready to turn the change in the right direction.” 

—Timothy Snyder, “The Berlin Wall Never Fell,” Substack, 2024.