The LinkingLeaders Partnership is a coalition strengthening solidarity for racial justice and equity through a cross-racial, cross-cultural partnership in the Twin Cities. Bringing together more than 5,500 leaders in the region’s Black, Asian, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, LinkingLeaders seeks to identify strategies and best practice models to create connections and strengthen ties amongst leaders of color.
Made up of the Tiwahe Foundation, African American Leadership Forum, Coalition of Asian-American Leaders, and LatinoLEAD, the network approaches the practice of solidarity through a lens of leadership development, movement building, and network weaving. The Mortenson Family Foundation has supported this initiative since 2022.
To get a better understanding of how these groups approach solidarity, we spoke with the Forum’s Shanaya Dungey and Jaralyn Roberts. Dungey has been with the organization since 2020 and serves as its chief operating officer, and Roberts joined in 2024 and is the leadership development director.
This partner story is part of a four-part series featuring the LinkingLeaders Partnership. This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.
When a crisis hits—whether that’s political, social, environmental, or something else—what does solidarity look like in practice? Can you share moments where you’ve had to show up for others, or when others have shown up for you?
Dungey: True solidarity takes regular practice. We cannot just show up in moments of crisis. I’d argue that it’s “easier” to show up when a crisis hits, when all eyes are on a community, the need feels urgent, and emotions are running high. But that kind of response, while often well-intentioned, can come across as inauthentic when it isn’t grounded in a relationship and there isn’t an ongoing effort to understand the needs, concerns, and heart of that community.
A moment of my own practiced solidarity was stepping out of my comfort zone to join a project team building a framework to support and expand Minnesota statute 10.65 regarding Tribal health data sovereignty during my 2024-25 Hubert H. Humphrey policy fellowship. Without my exposure to solidarity work and relationship with Tiwahe Foundation, I may not have felt like I could add value working on such an important project.
The LinkingLeaders partnership centers relationships as both foundational and core tenets of the partnership and work of solidarity with trust and care as regular practices: asking deeper questions; leaning in; working on a relationship, even when it’s uncomfortable. An uncomfortable question from a trusted partner lands differently than from someone you aren’t in a relationship with or who hasn’t shown up with care.
Roberts: In a moment of crisis, solidarity is more than expressing support. It’s about tangible ways our communities can show up for one another that are aligned to the need and culturally considerate. It is about taking action that uplifts, learns, and amplifies the voices, brilliance, and challenges that other communities are facing. Solidarity can look like attending the Asian Minnesotan Day at the Capitol, amplifying and acknowledging National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on social media to bring awareness, or sitting with a friend who is grieving and navigating threats of deportation of family members. Solidarity is deeply personal and requires real investment of time, grace, and empathy. It is stepping into the struggle with someone else and saying with action, “you are not alone in this.”
Looking back on the work you’ve done together, what are some key lessons or realizations you’ve had? How has this journey shaped the way you think about collaboration, community, or even yourselves?
Dungey: We’ve experienced powerful momentum, and moments that have knocked the wind out of our sails. We’ve confronted our own biases, been called-in for harm we’ve caused, and had to call-in others, too. This deep work has held up a mirror, pushing me to reflect on how I engage with other communities. I’ve realized there is much I don’t fully understand, and I’ve learned to navigate that discomfort with care for myself and others.
I recently spoke with a community leader who was hesitant to share their group’s strategic approach with a Latine group just beginning similar work in their area. They felt the other group should go through the process of building and learning the lessons themselves rather than receiving a shortcut. Through solidarity work, I recognized that this mindset was influenced by dominant cultural norms and individualism, which ultimately harm and slow the progress of our communities. I was able to share these insights with that community member and help them reconsider the value of sharing best practices and tools across communities, which they went on to share with their group of leaders. This work has ripple effects.
Speaking up and showing up for others has always been part of our communities collective liberation. There is so much power in sharing power and in creating a table like the one we’ve expanded together. It’s been transformational for me as a leader.
Our journey has shifted how we ask and show up to conversations about funding in a revolutionary way. Moving away from the scarcity mindset that tells us we have to compete against one another for limited resources. We are rejecting that idea entirely. Instead, we’re operating from a place of abundance. Through our work together, we know there is enough, we know we are stronger together. So, we’ve shifted to sharing and identifying opportunities where we can make asks for what is truly needed to support all of our communities in solidarity. We’re also challenging the systems that reward some with multiple chances and grace, while demanding perfection from others. We’re asking for room to fail, to reflect, to learn and to be trusted throughout the process, the same way our counterparts have been afforded these opportunities for centuries.
Roberts: One of the biggest realizations that I have had in working together is the many ways white supremacy has pinned our communities against one another to operate from a scarcity lens, as if there is no space for all of us to be free. Oftentimes, our communities are competing for the same resources, exposure, and validation when in reality, there is room for all of us. True freedom comes from our communities realizing that our liberation is tied to each other’s liberation and that the validation we seek comes from within our communities. That we are not the problem and the power lies in us facing the problem together versus facing one another.
I have also learned that leadership looks different in different communities. If we focus on what we have in common instead of what makes us so different, we can move powerful work forward with lasting impact. Effective solidarity work cannot be done without building trust and relationships over time. It takes being consistent, investing in, and caring for the well-being of other communities.
How do you show up for each other, not just as individuals but in support of the different communities or movements you’re each connected to? What does mutual support look like across different identities, geographies, or struggles?
Dungey: Mutual support has looked like asking intentional questions, being willing to listen, and not assuming we know what another community needs. It’s been showing up physically when we can, speaking up and inviting each other to rooms when we notice someone’s voice or story isn’t represented. It’s also being accountable when harm happens, even unintentionally, and having the courage to adjust. At the end of the day, I personally show up to this work because I believe our communities’ futures are tied together. My freedom is connected to theirs and this kind of deep, intentional support is not optional, it’s how we move forward together.
Roberts: Showing up for one another requires us to not only build relationships among us LinkingLeaders, but to do the work necessary to understand the layered and nuanced history of our communities. It requires us to approach this work rooted in mutual respect, radical care, and justice centered hearts. Showing up also looks like sharing knowledge and resources while also being a resource for each other’s communities. It looks like not only holding space to lament on the challenges our community faces but also sharing in the joy and celebration of our cultures. It’s holding space for us to dream of a radical future where all of our communities have the unchallenged freedom to exist in our natural way of being, brilliance, and beauty.
What’s been the most challenging part of this work so far—and what’s been the most energizing or exciting? Are there any moments that stand out as turning points, victories, or big learning curves?
Dungey: This work has been both deeply challenging and incredibly energizing. It’s easily some of the most important work I do. One of the most powerful parts for me has been learning how other communities are approaching racial equity: what questions they’re asking of themselves and their leaders, how they’re staying grounded in their cultural identities, and how they’re reimagining leadership on their own terms. Each time I engage across a different community, it nourishes deeper innovation in my own work.
One of my most challenging and formative moments was when the executive table felt pressure to prove the partnership’s impact. Combined with the weight of the racial equity work we all are leading, this created tension. Instead of barrelling through, we paused. We asked ourselves a simple question: What did we need but hadn’t received or even thought was possible along our journeys? Then we asked other leaders. Reflecting on past leadership journeys and considering what was helpful, harmful, and missing, helped us create tools and practices to broaden our reach and make taking steps towards solidarity simple. We were able to show up more authentically while also supporting the growth and development of the next layer of leaders, our managing directors. They, in turn, have carried these lessons into our organization’s leadership development programming and engaged community leaders about the importance of solidarity.
In 2025, this work has broadened to include quarterly community gatherings where we highlight and explore different aspects of solidarity across networks. So far this year, we’ve engaged over 300 community members from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds in meaningful conversations about how solidarity is crucial to their leadership journey, a major victory.
Roberts: What has been most challenging is navigating the systems that were not created for our communities to thrive and the ideals and constructs that have been created because of it. The trauma our communities have endured and continue to navigate leaves remnants that continue to make it hard to live full and free lives. LinkingLeaders is evidence that we are resilient and we are doing the work to bring light to the injustices of our communities while creating pathways to solutions.
What excites me most are the ways we have been able to bring our larger communities together to reflect, convene, dream, and celebrate. A moment that stands out to me is when we recently facilitated a session on solidarity for ALP [LatinoLEAD’s leadership program] and after the session, I felt so energized and excited about what we are building together. The stories that were shared, the conversations that were had, and the questions that were asked were proof that there is opportunity for leaders to grow in their capacity in solidarity, and that they want to! It was affirmation that what LinkingLeaders is doing is needed, desired, and making a meaningful impact on our communities.
