February Newsletter: Celebrating Black History Month with Social Justice Synergy
A WORD FROM IRIS
Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week (which is now Black History Month) for us to learn about and celebrate Black people’s vast contributions to society and national history. I’d like to invite organizational leaders to observe the occasion by actually honoring the Black people you see each day.
How might this look in practice? Closing offices in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, Emancipation Day, and other significant days is a start. Supporting Black employees within the workplace can include securing funding for professionally-facilitated affinity group sessions, and for professional development/advancement opportunities such as conferences or memberships to Black professional associations. Allowing Black employees to opt out of DEI sessions where the work may happen at their expense, is another idea – offering racial/social justice trainings created exclusively for white managers and leaders might be even better.
Leaders might also consider policies to better support Black team members in their day-to-day lives outside of work, such as using a broader definition of family when it comes to employee benefits and bereavement, or implementing paid mental health days off, particularly following acts of white supremacist violence.
Let’s appreciate our past by cultivating Black excellence here in the present.
Black History Month throwback from 5 year old Iris!
NEWS TO CHEW ON
Speaking of Black excellence, here are three moments of Black pride & power, recently:
PAUSE FOR JOY
Seeing the youth of Black Swan Academy in Washington, D.C. in action feels like glimpsing a bright, just future. The community organization gives young people the strategies, tools, and knowledge to empower themselves as civic leaders within their communities. Check them out!
FROM THE TOOLKIT
Working with the same language and agreeing on meanings is a vital part of connecting and finding solutions. This glossary, one of the resources included in our vast SJS Toolkit, can help with word choice as your team navigates difficult topics.