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.

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.

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.

Read the full article about long-term funding for BAMEMSA-led nonprofits by Deepa Iyer at Nonprofit Quarterly.