eNews

March 2026

Thriving Together: When We Choose One Another

Deaconess Community,

 

Women’s History Month, and certainly Black Women’s History Month, invites us to celebrate the women who changed the course of history. Yet some of the most transformative acts of women’s leadership unfold in quieter ways, through the everyday choices women make to support, uplift, and invest in one anotherpersonally and professionally. 

 

And in this moment, when many Black women in leadership are navigating orchestrated sabotage andheightened scrutiny, something even more powerful is unfolding alongside it: Black women are finding one another. Black women are choosing one another. Black women are creating spaces of care, alignment, and mutual respect that sustain both the work and the people doing it. 

 

As women representing different generations, sharing space, leadership, and purpose, we have come to understand the joy and power that emerge when Black women intentionally create spaces where we can thrive together. 

 

There is a natural magnetism to Black women. The world is drawn tothat forceand often nourished by it. But there is something even sweeter when that same magnetism draws us back to ourselves. In that return, we are no longer only pouring out. We are replenishing one another. 

 

The ripple effects are unmistakable. 

 

When people witness women celebrating one another without hesitation, it reshapes what leadership looks like. When care and respect are visible, others begin to extend the same to those around them. Over time, what begins as a relationship becomes culture. 

 

Colleagues feel safer bringing forward their ideas. Teams collaborate more freely. The workplace becomes less about proving oneself and more about building something meaningful together. 

 

This is the quiet power of women choosing each other. 

 

At its heart, this partnership is guided by shared values. We believe people are more important than any measure or metric. We believe leadership should expand dignity, not diminish it. And we believe the most enduring impact comes from relationships that nurture growth for everyone involved. 

 

There is also something quietly beautiful about what it means for two Black women to care for one another in this way: to lead with generosity, to open doors of opportunity and root for each other's wins, and to model a kind of leadership rooted in mutuality. That care is not performative. It is simply who we choose to be with and for one another. 

 

And in choosing that, we create something larger than ourselves. 

 

We create a workplace where people thrive. 

 

We create a culture where encouragement travels faster than criticism. 

 

We create conditions where others feel invited to bring their best selves forward -unconditionally. Love is the lasso. 

 

When women choose relationship, respect and shared purpose,the impact travels far beyond the two people at the center of it

 

It becomes a way of working. It becomes a way of leading. 

 

And in time, it becomes the culture itself. 

 

We dedicate this to all the femtors, sisters, aunties, mothers, and generations of praying women who saw us in their holy imagination and interceded until that vision took root in our lives. 

 

With an abundance of care,

Bethany Johnson-Javois

President & CEO

Constance Harper

Vice President, Strategic Impact & Innovation

FROM THE FOUNDATION

2025 Annual Report


Last year was a year of reckoning—reckoning of care for our people, our communities, and our future. In moments of crises Deaconess organized alongside our neighbors in

unprecedented ways to meet urgent needs following an EF3 tornado that carved a 23-mile path of destruction across the bi-state St. Louis region, to respond to the uncertainty and increased need caused by the delay in nutritional benefits for children and families, and to protect access to care for all people. The opportunities for us to stand shoulder-to-shoulder are plentiful for the future we believe is plausible. As ever, we are a community of bold action, rooted in faith, led by love, and committed to justice.

Save the Date


In alignment with our philosophy of offering support to enhance our partnerships, Deaconess is offering the following learning opportunities available free of charge to our ecosystem of partners. Please save the dates and join us! Detailed descriptions and registration links will be shared in next month’s newsletter.

THE MORE YOU KNOW

This year marks the 61st remembrance of Bloody Sunday, a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement.


On March 7, 1965, John Lewis, then a 25-year-old leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), helped lead approximately 600 peaceful protestors alongside Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and other movement leaders on a march from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery. The purpose of the march was to protest the systemic denial of voting rights for Black Americans and to demand federal protection for the right to vote.


As the group approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were confronted by Alabama state troopers and local law enforcement. They were ordered to disperse. When they did not, officers advanced on the crowd, using billy clubs, tear gas, and mounted force to break up the demonstration. Many participants, including John Lewis, were severely injured.


The violence of that day was captured on camera and broadcast across the United States. The footage brought national attention to the realities of voter suppression and racial injustice in the South, prompting widespread public response.


In the days that followed, civil rights leaders organized additional marches and advocacy efforts. The events of Bloody Sunday played a significant role in building momentum for federal voting rights legislation. Later that year, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting and authorizing federal oversight of voter registration in areas with a history of discriminatory practices.


Bloody Sunday remains an important historical reference point for understanding the struggle for voting rights in the United States. It highlights the role of grassroots organizing, the impact of media in shaping public awareness, and the connection between public protest and legislative change.


Remembering this history helps provide context for ongoing conversations about access to the ballot and the protection of democratic participation.

WHAT WE'RE READING

As data centers loom, St. Louis confronts energy, equity questions | The St. Louis American


Missouri Supreme Court throws out voter registration restrictions, keeps voter photo ID | St. Louis Public Radio


How the NAACP is Stopping Dirty Data | Nonprofit Quarterly


How to Build Solidarity Infrastructure for the Long Haul | Nonprofit Quarterly


PARTNER OPPORTUNITIES & EVENTS

April 1 - Educational Community Meeting (on the state take over of the St. Louis City police) | Action St. Louis

April 3 – Civic Stakeholder Meeting | Counterpublic

April 4 - Community Day | United Congregations of Metro-East

April 7 – LWV-St. Louis Voter Guide | Missouri Municipal Elections

April 8 - Illinois Environmental Lobby Day

April 10 - A Community Conversation with Regional Leaders | Saint Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

April 11 - Community Resource Expo | United Congregations of Metro-East

April 13 – No Work Training Call | Missouri Workers Center

April 15 – Fully Free Day of Action | Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments

April 28 - Monthly Renters Meeting | Action St. Louis

April 25 - Data Centers Townhall | United Congregations of Metro-East

May 3 – Freedom 2 Learn National Day of Action | Good Journey Development Foundation

May 16 – Community Beautification Days | Tabernacle CDC




Deadline of May 1 - 2026 Boss Fellowship | Action St. Louis

Deadline of June 29Submitting a claim for Cody v. City of St. Louis Settlement | Arch City Defenders

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