The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC), the oldest state-commissioned ethnic heritage organization in the nation, has long championed the preservation, education, and celebration of African American history across Maryland. In the face of increasing political pushback against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives nationwide, the Commission has released a timely and powerful statement reaffirming its commitment to truth, equity, and cultural integrity. This statement appears in The Pendulum, the official publication of the MCAAHC.
We are not a DEI Program: We are Defenders of Freedom and Democracy
A Statement from the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture
Today, the hunt is on to root out “DEI” and so-called “divisive ideologies” from classrooms, libraries, museums, and public institutions across the country. In statehouses and school boards, from Florida to Texas and beyond, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are being defunded, dismantled, or recast as threats to national unity. At the heart of this backlash lies a deliberate mischaracterization: that the study of race and the preservation of Black history, women’s history, and other marginalized narratives are somehow ideological, rather than factual and foundational.
The term DEI, originally emerging from workplace diversity initiatives and later expanded to include systemic barriers to equity and access, has been weaponized by right-leaning political movements and figures seeking to conflate racial reckoning with partisan activism. So too has the term ideology, which in truth means any system of ideas and values – but is now used selectively to suggest that only those who champion equity hold a worldview, while those who oppose it are neutral or apolitical. Yet this framing masks a deeper reality: the very effort to suppress African American history reflects an ideology of exclusion – one that prioritizes a narrow version of American identity while denying the plurality of stories that shape our national life.
The work of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) is not a subsidiary DEI initiative, nor is it an expression of partisan ideology. It is the official, state-mandated effort to document, preserve, and elevate the central role that African Americans have played in shaping Maryland and the nation. Established in 1969 through the visionary leadership of Senator Verda Welcome and the scholarly foundation laid by Dr. Benjamin Quarles, the Commission was conceived as a vital public-interest institution from the start.
Our work is not peripheral or ephemeral – it is constitutional, civic, and essential. We do not teach grievance; we preserve historical fact. We do not promote division; we advance understanding. Through research, public education, cultural preservation, and grantmaking, the Commission fulfills Maryland’s obligation to confront its past honestly and ensure that African American stories, sites, and contributions are safeguarded for future generations. To call our work ‘ideological’ is to distort both our mandate and our mission. We are not promoting a political agenda. We are upholding a democratic promise.
Our work is grounded not in recent political trends but in the unfulfilled potential of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments – the cornerstone civil rights amendments that redefined American democracy in the aftermath of the Civil War. Through these constitutional provisions, African Americans were guaranteed equal protection under the law, the right to vote, and a new vision of political and civic participation. The MCAAHC serves as a steward of that legacy: chronicling it, protecting it, and ensuring that future generations understand the cost and the value of freedom.
To suppress or defund the telling of this history is not neutral, but an act of erasure that weakens our shared democratic fabric. The Commission’s work fosters civic literacy, community resilience, and a deeper understanding of what it truly means to pursue a “more perfect union.”
Continued state support is vital, even in times of fiscal strain.
Maryland, like many states, faces a significant budget deficit. Federal uncertainty, particularly in the realms of university, workforce, and cultural funding, adds further strain. But it is precisely in such moments of national and fiscal crisis that we must double down on our civic commitments.
The MCAAHC is not a luxury budget item. It is an educational and cultural institution essential to the health of our democracy. We serve the people of Maryland through four pillars:
- Supporting curriculum and teacher training aligned with Maryland’s educational standards.
- Strengthening museums and heritage sites across the state, which serve as economic engines and cultural anchors in their communities.
- Promoting cultural entrepreneurship and local storytelling, often in underserved regions, through our grant support to community-based organizations.
- Providing a model for civic engagement at the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum that promotes informed citizenship.
When Maryland supports MCAAHC, it is not just funding a program. It is making a constitutional claim: that the state will uphold the right of its people to know their history, speak their truth, and participate fully in civic life. The Commission’s work is a guardrail against authoritarian erasure, and a platform for democratic renewal.
We also say to Maryland’s corporate, institutional, and philanthropic communities: now is your moment to step into the breach. Supporting the MCAAHC and similar institutions is not charity work; it is strategic democracy work. History is infrastructure. Just as roads and bridges hold up our physical society, archives, exhibits, and community education hold up our civic consciousness. At a time when truth itself is under attack, philanthropic support for the MCAAHC helps ensure that:
- Free speech is protected through robust public dialogue about the past.
- Civil rights are preserved by amplifying the stories of those who fought for them.
- Democratic culture endures by empowering communities to see themselves as part of the American story.
We believe that Black heritage work must not be defined or dismissed by those who seek to marginalize it by assigning terms like “DEI” or divisive ideology. Instead, we must reclaim the language and reframe the narrative about what we do for the public as vital, pro-democracy work rooted in a commitment to historical truth-telling, civil and social rights, and the protection of constitutional liberties.
This is a call to action: Make your values visible. Help us hold the line. Join us in ensuring that the promise of American democracy is not abandoned, but fulfilled.
Visit the MCAAHC website.