On May 4-6, 2026, Frontline and sixteen partner organizations launched The Future of Black Institutions Initiative (FBIS) with a historic symposium in New Orleans. This gathering of 150 cross-sector leaders aimed to imagine and ignite the future of Black institutions—so that the communities they impact have the resilient, innovative, and trusted infrastructure needed to thrive for generations.

Black institutions face a pivotal moment. As resources tighten and political attacks intensify, the operating environment has become increasingly complex. The connective tissue that once linked leaders and coordinated action across institutions has eroded just when it is needed most. The stakes of this reality were starkly apparent as the symposium took place in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to effectively gut the Voting Rights Act.

We’ve just had a moment out of the Supreme Court that will test our ability to stand up.

Derrick Johnson, NAACP, Opening Plenary, May 2026

Yet, the symposium made clear that today’s Black institutions are structural anchors of a functioning multi-racial democracy. They hold the civic capacity that keeps systems accountable to the people they most often fail: voter protection, trusted information, legal defense, mutual aid, and the organizing muscle that turns communities into constituencies. The symposium’s agenda focused on strengthening this vital capacity and building a coordinated offense with a future-forward vision.

This report compiles critical questions, emerging ideas, and key insights from the symposium, focusing on four strategic pillars:

1. 1. Strengthening Narrative Power

2. 2. Reclaiming Technological Power

3. 3. Advancing Reparative Capital

4. 4. Building Political and People Power

It also provides resources to help leaders take action to align and strengthen Black institutions in your communities. From examining the relationship between the media and Black civic life to confronting the risks and possibilities of an AI-driven future, from crafting a strategic response to attacks on Black political power to articulating a vision for an economic system grounded in repair rather than extraction, the Future of Black Institutions Initiative reflects a game-changing commitment to positioning Black institutions as architects of the future.

We hope this resource helps you diagnose the challenges to this vision, interrogate the systems that produce them, and imagine what must be built in their place. As Liz Thompson, Founder and CEO of the Cafe Group, reminded us at the symposium, we must approach this work with “lucid optimism,” neither denying the many challenges nor failing to dream boldly. Our builder’s moment is now.