Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee – September 2026

Terri Gulyas, Chair

September: A Season for New Beginnings—and Action

For me, September has always felt a little like the beginning of a new year. Perhaps it is a lingering memory from my school days: a new academic year, new teachers, new classmates, and new opportunities to learn. As we enter September during an important election year, it seems like an appropriate time to reflect on how far our country has come in expanding participation in our democracy—and how fragile that progress can be. Democracy is sustained not only at the ballot box, but through everyday actions that help people feel valued, connected, and included.

Learning, reading, and talking about democracy, equity, and inclusion are important. But our words and good intentions must also be put into action. As League members, we do this by registering voters, sharing reliable election information, encouraging people to make a voting plan, and helping ensure that every eligible voter has an opportunity to be heard. With National Voter Registration Day coming on September 15, this is a perfect time to check your own registration, remind friends and family members to do the same, and volunteer with the League’s voter-registration and Get Out the Vote efforts.

Civic engagement also extends beyond elections. We help create a welcoming community when we support local businesses owned by immigrants and members of historically marginalized communities. Spending our dollars at these establishments is one small but meaningful way to demonstrate that we value the people, cultures, and traditions that enrich the Greater Green Bay area.

If you haven’t already done so, consider visiting Goly & Eve Puerto Rican Kitchen, located at 351 S. Washington Street in Green Bay, for traditional, made-from-scratch Puerto Rican dishes. For a sweet adventure, stop at La Guadalupana & La Princesa Michoacana, 2030 E. Mason Street. One side offers Mexican ice cream, paletas, smoothies, and specialty treats, while the adjoining market carries groceries, candies, piñatas, and other Mexican products. In downtown De Pere, Sofreh Eatery, 353 Main Avenue, Suite B, is a family-owned Persian-American restaurant serving kabobs, Persian rice dishes, beverages, and American selections.

These are only a few examples. Look around your own neighborhood for immigrant-owned, Native-owned, Black-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, and other diverse small businesses. Try a new restaurant, attend a cultural event, recommend a business to a friend, or share a positive review. These may seem like modest actions, but they help build relationships, strengthen our local economy, and let our neighbors know that they belong.

Democracy is not something we simply inherit. It is something we practice—through voting, learning, listening, welcoming, and acting. This September, let’s begin again with renewed purpose and turn our values into action.

Put Your Values into Action

·      Even if you’ve voted in every election over the past years, check your voter registration status through MyVote Wisconsin https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/ to ensure you are still registered and that you haven’t been mistakenly purged from voter rolls.

·      Contact Dawn Smith to volunteer for voter registration activities on National Voter Registration Day on September 15 or throughout the year. Ask about being an election observer or how you can participate in other organizing efforts of the League.

·      Visit a diverse local business and send names of other diverse-owned businesses to Terri Gulyas for a future newsletter feature. This can be the beginning of an ongoing community resource and not just a one-time list.