Within weeks of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, leaders of several prominent Chicago cultural institutions pledged to do more to actively challenge racial discrimination in the arts.
The Art Institute of Chicago, one of the most-visited destinations in the city, confessed to historically excluding artists of color and promised to elevate underrepresented talent. Steppenwolf Theatre vowed to diversify the stories it staged, while Merit School of Music and the Obama Foundation made plans to become antiracist organizations.
A common goal emerged across the many public diversity, equity and inclusion strategies: Chicago organizations committed to better reflect the communities they serve.
The Arts Five Years After George Floyd
In 2020, cultural groups across Chicago pledged to diversify their boards, staff and programs amid a global call to action. WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times surveyed the largest revenue earners to see if they upheld their commitments.
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Five years later, WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times wanted to know if those promises were kept. We surveyed the largest arts, culture and humanities nonprofits about the demographics of their boards and full-time staff members in 2021 and 2025. We ultimately learned minor progress has been made. Two groups — Merit School of Music and Navy Pier – said people of color now make up the majority of full-time staffers compared to the past.
But many organizations declined to talk about their efforts at all. Among the major groups that would, the staff and boards remain majority white and not reflective of the city’s broader demographics.
People of color make up more than two-thirds of Chicago’s population, with Black and Latino people representing 27% and 30% of residents, respectively, according to the 2023 American Community Survey.
The 20 organizations surveyed were chosen based on revenue listed on ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer database as of August 2025. Chicago Public Media, the owner of the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, was also asked to participate. We also asked organizations to provide examples of programming that represents audiences of color.
Of the 21 total institutions, only seven fully completed the survey: Chicago Public Media, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Merit School of Music, Navy Pier, Old Town School of Folk Music, Steppenwolf Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company.
The 14 organizations that declined to complete the survey include some of the city’s most sizable revenue earners. Among this group, three — the Art Institute of Chicago, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry and the Field Museum — sent statements emphasizing their commitment to serving diverse audiences, including through school programming, but would not share specific numbers about boards or staff. The Art Institute said that, since its pledge in 2020, more than 50% of its exhibitions have featured artists of color.
The Barack Obama Foundation said it does not track board diversity and was unable to provide full-time staff demographics by deadline. But the nonprofit said it has supported diverse communities with programming, such as its My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, which provides resources for boys and young men of color. And it has awarded 50% of its construction contracts to diverse firms helping to build the Obama Presidential Center. Likewise, the Chicago Architecture Center said it was unable to meet the survey’s four-week deadline.
The other institutions did not provide a reason for not participating.
In interviews, arts groups leaders expressed concern about publicly discussing diversity and inclusion work following President Donald Trump’s elimination of federal DEI programs, and conservative groups’ discriminatory lawsuits against corporations with similar programs. Institutions have also been burdened by the pandemic and recent cuts to federal and city arts funding threatening progress.
Even before the Trump-era backlash against DEI, some arts advocates and artists said nonprofits had not done enough to address racial disparities. They also said they are troubled by the organizations’ lack of transparency.
“It’s almost like, all of a sudden, people are afraid to talk about the lack of diversity, and some organizations no longer have to worry about it, but they do,” said Jorge Valdivia, executive director of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, which provides programming and resources for Latino theater artists. “A lot of people are smart enough to know that, socially, Chicago and your audience expect better of you.” “It’s almost like DEI became a dirty word.”
Some groups were more forthcoming about their wins so far, such as changes to recruitment efforts and hiring practices that have expanded their boards and staff.
Mica Cole, executive director at TimeLine Theatre, said she has been intentional about building an environment that truly supports DEI work.
“Lasting change requires immense courage and deep organizational work that isn’t always visible or measurable in the short-term,” she said. “Racism isn’t dismantled in a year or even five years.”
Survey shows minor progress, but Latino representation on boards remains low
As groups made promises in the flurry of introspection after the murder of George Floyd, many specifically pledged to diversify their board of directors, a key component in shaping any organization’s trajectory.
Between 2021 and 2025, most groups in the survey reported small increases in the share of people of color on their boards, with Old Town School of Folk Music, Merit School of Music and Steppenwolf Theatre adding multiple Black board members. Across the seven organizations, the current percentage of people of color on the board ranged from a low of 13% to as high as 44%.
Some groups said they built board diversity by recruiting artists and alumni. For example, Steppenwolf added board members from its artistic ensemble — even adapting bylaws so they could serve on executive committees. Merit School of Music, which oversees programs in neighborhoods throughout the city, has invited alumni and parents of former students to be on the board.
Though Latinos make up roughly 30% of Chicago’s population, two of the surveyed groups reported zero Latino board members. For each of the other five organizations, Latinos made up fewer than 13% of board members.
Jorge Valdivia said he wasn’t surprised by the findings. “This conversation isn’t new. That’s the sad part,” he said. “I remember leaders a generation before me talking about how little has changed. And here I am now in their shoes saying those same words.”
After sharing their data, multiple organizations said they had additional work to do to achieve a more diverse board, especially given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Over the last few years, our focus has been to get people back here, spending money, in order to financially sustain ourselves,” said Arnie Rivera, former chief administrative and strategy officer at Navy Pier. “Having a new strategic plan will allow us to be even more thoughtful in regards to furthering the elements that make us ‘the people’s pier,’ including staff and leadership makeup.”
Organizations reported more progress diversifying their staff, according to the WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times survey, with Merit School of Music and Navy Pier reporting noticeable shifts since 2021. Between 2021 and 2025, more than half the participating organizations showed minor increases in the share of people of color on their full-time staff. Across the seven organizations, the current percentage of people of color on the staff ranged from a low of 12% to 61%.
Latinos are better represented on staffs compared to boards; all organizations saw an increase in the Latino share of their full-time staff between 2021 and 2025, with Merit School of Music, Navy Pier and Steppenwolf Theatre at least doubling their number of full-time Latino employees.
Multiple organizations said they have made changes to hiring practices, posted job openings in more places, partnered with community organizations during the recruiting process, removed unnecessary qualifications and addressed unconscious bias during evaluation of applicants.
Chicago Public Media, the parent organization of WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, was the only survey respondent that reported a decrease in the share of people of color on its board. However, following recent staff reductions, the organization managed to increase its share of people of color on the Sun-Times’ full-time staff. The share of people of color on WBEZ’s full-time staff remained nearly the same.
“There is no end to the work that we need to do to ensure that every person can feel good, welcome and ready to work at our organization,” Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell said. “Particularly around racial diversity, we need to do better in journalism writ large.”
Reflecting on the five years post Floyd, TimeLine’s Cole pointed to people of color she saw exiting organizations after being hired in leadership positions in 2020. Simply adding board and staff members of color without changing an organization’s policies and culture is a “recipe for harm.”
“Putting those leaders on the front line to have those conversations, to educate these predominantly white boards, puts them directly in the line of fire for resistance, white fragility and having their strategic thoughts be reframed as personal ambitions around race,” she said.
Organizations hesitant to discuss DEI
Some institutions hesitate to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion because they are afraid of upsetting their patrons and donors, said Luther Goins, executive director of the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago, which supports Black organizations and artists.
“I’m not surprised,” said Goins, who shared that many organizations reached out to him for advice during the height of the racial justice protests in 2020.
“I asked them one question before I helped them: Are you putting ‘Black Lives Matter’ in the window because you believe it, or you’re afraid not to?” he said.
Arts leaders say some organizations have struggled to remain focused on DEI goals while trying to stay afloat post-pandemic. In recent years, the sector has been plagued by shrinking audiences and subscriptions, as well as turnover: About half the 21 organizations approached for this story experienced a change in top leadership since 2020.
Luther Goins, executive director of the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago, said that many organizations reached out to him for advice during the height of the racial justice protests in 2020. “I asked them one question before I helped them: Are you putting ‘Black Lives Matter’ in the window because you believe it, or you’re afraid not to?”
Courtesy of Leon Schrauben
This year, after Trump took office for a second term, local organizations lost funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Citing a need to reduce “unnecessary” federal bureaucracy, the administration cut back some grants and changed the rules of who could apply for others, requiring grantseekers to agree to a prohibition on programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
As a result, some arts leaders said they believe their diverse programs were no longer eligible for funding.
Locally, organizations have been impacted by cuts to the city’s cultural affairs department CityArts grant and reductions in private funding.
“The federal funding has gotten a lot of attention,” said Brooke Flanagan, executive director of Steppenwolf Theatre. “But the bigger issue right now in Chicago is the stepping back of corporate and foundation support for the arts and arts education.”
Given the federal attacks on DEI, some arts organizations said they are being cautious about what they emphasize or are altering some of the language describing the work.
“When you take a look at our mission — being a place where there’s a sense of belonging — that naturally requires us to program, staff and activate the place to reflect the diversity of the city,” said Rivera, formerly of Navy Pier. “Our values haven’t changed. It’s just that some of the nomenclature may change.”
Mica Cole said TimeLine Theatre, which has a smaller budget than the big Downtown arts groups but recently raised $46 million for a capital campaign for a new building, plans to move “full-steam ahead” with its DEI commitments.
“A lot of organizations have taken down their antiracism statements,” she said. “A lot of organizations have taken it out of their core values. We had a whole conversation about it and said, ‘Nope, we’re doubling down.’”
Some programs are reaching more diverse audiences than ever
In early 2025, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater staged a production of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” by playwright Jocelyn Bioh, about the experiences of West African immigrant stylists in America. The theater engaged local salons and organizations in programming related to the play, which drew an audience of nearly 50% attendees of color.
Many other arts groups are also trying to draw audiences more reflective of the city. Just last month, the Old Town School of Folk Music offered Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba in Washington Park’s Fieldhouse as part of its free Music Moves Chicago series, which reached more than 10,200 participants of color on the South and West sides in 2024.
Led by instructor Lauren Brooks, the dancers swirled their skirts as they moved to the rhythms of the drums, or “barriles de bomba,” played by Black and Puerto Rican musicians.
Among those learning the cultural “dance of resistance” was Zenzile Fatou, who described Music Moves as a “blessing” for Black and Brown communities in Chicago.
“We need these things to further affirm our collective identity,” said Fatou, 34, of Calumet Heights, who also teaches dance for Old Town School of Folk Music. “And especially now, when there’s a lot of propaganda to further divide us and our communities, it’s important for us to have these spaces.”
Brooks, 40, of Woodlawn, praised the organization for providing teaching jobs to artists of color but said an employment gap remains.
“I wish that we, as Black artists specifically, had more opportunities in the city,” she said.
Some artists are pushing the groups that hire them to create such opportunities. For example, when Lyric Opera of Chicago approached avery r. young to premiere his forthcoming opera, “safronia,” with their company, young requested — and received — a Black dramaturg and other diverse personnel.
Chicago’s first-ever poet laureate and a co-founder of the Floating Museum art collective, young said it sometimes makes sense to “stop trying to sit at [legacy institutions’] table and build your own,” but that decision comes with its own challenges.
“Institutions of color are nowhere near resourced in the way that the bigger, white institutions are,” he said. “We don’t get the same money.”
Though historically underfunded, organizations led by people of color saw a boost in grant funding in Chicago between 2020 and 2023, according to a study by local nonprofit Enrich Chicago. But the group expressed concerns about slowing progress as COVID-19 relief dollars dried up.
Jorge Valdivia said he especially worries about local Latino organizations, which received less than 7% in foundation funding each year between 2020 and 2022, according to a report by the University of Illinois Chicago. And federal backlash may disproportionately impact groups that specifically serve underrepresented communities and are therefore unable to divorce DEI from their mission, he said.
“Now is the time to come together and be there for one another,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to continue to ask ourselves these hard questions around equity and diversity. Do you really want to make these changes? Or are you just coming up with excuses?”
Editor’s note: WBEZ/Chicago-Sun-Times sourced the city’s 21 largest arts and culture groups from the ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer database using a query “arts, culture and humanities.” The Art Institute of Chicago did not surface in that search because it is categorized as an “educational institution,” but the museum was asked to participate based on its arts offerings and revenue (nearly $360 million). Though the National Board Of Osteopathic Medical Examiners Inc., appears in the search, the organization was excluded. The ProPublica list is updated each month, so rankings may have changed since August 2025.