You can find more data through the Black Wealth Data Center. These efforts contribute to the ongoing effort to close the racial wealth gap in Black communities. You can do this by encouraging employees to shop at locally owned Black businesses or by expanding your organization’s vendor list to include Black-owned businesses that can provide services in different capacities. Supporting local Black-owned businesses in your city is a great way to promote economic mobility. Buy Black: Today, Black households have one-tenth the average net worth of white households.Or invite staff to nominate a few local organizations that can be considered. ![]() Donate: Your organization can make a monetary commitment to organizations specifically committed to social justice and racial equity such as Thurgood Marshall Fund, NAACP LDF, and Black Voters Matter.Inviting speakers such as activists, community organizers, local nonprofit leaders, or experts in the racial justice field to share their lived experiences or address a substantive issue facing Black communities today can provide an educational experience for all staff. Create a day of learning: Another way an organization can responsibly celebrate Juneteenth is by creating enriching experiences for staff that seek to gain knowledge, create a shared understanding, and dive into the nuance of the lasting effects of slavery on Black people.While instituting Juneteenth as a paid holiday should not be the cornerstone of an organization’s DEI practice, it underscores the day’s importance, recognizes systemic racism, and shows a commitment to better understanding the experiences of Black people. One meaningful way that organizations can support Black staff members during Juneteenth is by offering the day as a company holiday. Acknowledge the holiday: There is power in acknowledging something has happened – even when that something was hurtful or shameful.Here are some additional ideas organizations may find helpful: We also have a highly engaged DEI Task Force that includes staff members at all levels within the firm who freely share ideas and implement practices to maintain an inclusive work culture, such as supporting programming for our five Employee Resource Groups or being open to hiring potential job candidates from non-traditional career paths. This begs the question: How can organizations responsibly commemorate Juneteenth in a genuine and intentional way while backing up that commemoration by fostering a safe environment for Black employees?Īt Fenton, the majority of our staff and leadership identify as a person of color and/or a woman. Concurrently, we are in the midst of a wave of racist legislation supported by the so-called anti-critical race theory movement, which includes book bans, curriculum changes, and attacks on investing in DEI initiatives in public schools in the South. There has also been an uptick in recent months of companies and communities attempting to highlight or commemorate Juneteenth in ways that have fallen short or exploited Black people’s lived experiences. ![]() As well, since 2020, many corporations and organizations have implemented new or more extensive DEI initiatives.īut in recent months numerous news stories are reporting that new DEI efforts have started to backslide, revealing a disconnect between public commitments to DEI and following through on those commitments. One tangible response was declaring Juneteenth (June 19th) as a new federal holiday in 2021. The racial reckoning of the summer of 2020 demanded we pay attention to inequities embedded in our country’s culture, policies and laws, stemming from the legacy and impact of slavery. In Texas, the last slaves were not freed until two years and five months after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. ![]() It has been celebrated for many years by Black Americans, specifically residents of Galveston, Texas where the holiday began. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is a day of celebration that commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States.
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