Happy Black History Month! At least I hope it is… As a proud black woman, I’m conflicted every year about black history month. I believe black history should be celebrated all year long, of course, but I also appreciate this country recognizing and celebrating us for our contributions. Even if it’s just for a month, it is giving the rest of the country a reason to celebrate with us. I’ve shared this with my black community a lot lately and most of them struggle in the same or similar ways. So I’ve been wondering: are we actually enjoying the celebration or just completing yet another obligation thrown on us by society?
I also couldn’t help but wonder, if we as black people aren’t enjoying the celebration, is anyone? So I started asking everyone. On the other side of the coin, I came across non-black people who either didn’t see the need to celebrate or didn’t feel comfortable taking part in the celebration. Some felt left out because it’s not their history and some were just afraid of offending a whole race of people. Either way, they weren’t very comfortable.
Black History for Businesses and Brands
So many people of all races opt-out of contributing or opt for the safety nets of recycled quotes and profiles, many of which have been exhausted over the years. When people opt-out, we miss out on their perspective and on the opportunity to build together. When they opt into generic reposts and repeated activities, businesses often end up taking the lead in creating engaging events and promotions but often for the wrong reasons.
Business owners and executives of all races often focus on their bottom line or trying to show their creativity or “wokeness” when coming up with promotions for the month instead of actually honoring our history. So it’s no surprise that every year we see these events and promotions go terribly wrong by being tone-deaf or outright offensive. So how do we get it right? We start with three simple steps:
- First and most importantly we must remain focused on what the month is about ad honor it accordingly. This means whatever your plans they need to actually help celebrate the contributions of black people in American history. Better yet, they should help bridge the gaps that our history with the country has left us in – culturally, socially and financially.
- Second, but just as importantly, your plans have to include black people. Sure, no one wants to be embarrassed by a culturally insensitive marketing
Marketing is a series of steps used to achieve a sales goal.... More campaign but how can you honor a group of people without including them? It’s simply disingenuous to do so. - Finally, whatever your race, you cannot simply honor and celebrate black culture for a single month of the year. It has to be a daily commitment. No one respects temporary loyalty in any situation and no one respects lazy or last-minute attempts to get in on the PR. That’s exactly how many of the worst PR nightmares are created.
So make sure you have the right people and enough time to put together an event or campaign that honors black culture. If you’re black, run it past other black people and if you’re not, run it past a few different black people. We can all forget that there are many different black perspectives out there.
Don’t be afraid to start a dialogue. That’s often how change begins and we all know that there’s still a lot more change that needs to happen. After 50 years of the same black profiles and quotes, it’s okay to be creative. Just don’t let your creativity take precedence over the three steps above. Sometimes honoring or lifting up just one person is enough. None of us have anything to prove and we all have our own unique ways of contributing. You don’t have to go big to contribute.
Simple Ways to Celebrate Black History Month
Here are a few simple things you can do as an individual or business:
- Highlight the contributions of someone in your community who has made history or is making history today. A thank you post on social media, a blog post or article, or just an honorable mention or small gift at a meeting can go far.
- Take the time to learn about someone new and share that knowledge with someone else. It doesn’t have to be public to make an impact.
- You can share your perspective as a black person in this country or if you’re not black, share how black culture has impacted your life. Don’t be afraid of negative feedback, just be honest. Again, open dialogue can get us far.
- Visit your local African-American Museum of history and bring a non-black friend. Knowledge is power and can help bridge gaps.
- Donate to, or volunteer for, a cause that supports African-Americans. There are so many ways to do this in 2020. You can do it individually, through your company, or get your community involved. Use your social networks or other online tools to make it easier for everyone.
Finally, one not-so-simple thing you can do during Black History Month, and every day, is speak up against racism and injustice when you see it. This could be something as simple as supporting a coworker or providing a helpful opportunity to a person of color who otherwise wouldn’t have it. If you want to go bigger, consider becoming an active member #BlackLivesMatter or a similar movement.
Do what works for you but do something.
Be the first to reply