How can organizations support their black employees beyond Black History Month?

February marks the historic Black History Month movement which is celebrated throughout the month in America. It was started by Carter G Woodson, a revolutionary African-American author, and historian who saw the omission of black history and its contribution to the overall welfare of US history. What decided to be for just a week, caught so much attention that in 1976, it was declared to be a month-long celebration. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.

The story of Black History Month began in 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. During September, Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by Black Americans and other peoples of African descent. ASNLH implemented the Negro History Week in 1926 and choosing the month of February due to the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

The pandemic hurt the Black workers the most. The July jobs report from the U.S Department of Labor found that while the overall unemployment rate had improved slightly at 10.2% but for Black Americans, it remained at 14.6%. In June, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) determined that 41% of Black-owned businesses had closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, compared to 17% of white-owned businesses. Not to forget, the gruesome killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day sparked a nation-wide outrage of the unjust and prejudiced system of the country. Many civil rights advocates consider the most momentous national conversation on racial justice and equality since the 1960s.

The Black community has gone through several hardships and racial inequalities. From the HealthLine perspective, Black Americans have been contracting and dying from COVID-19 at a rate more than double that of the general population because of them being frontline workers and are directly in close contact with the virus. Companies need to realize that entering a social workplace, Black people may be going through different types of traumas and emotional weakness. It is important to cultivate nursing and supporting work-culture to help the Black employees work at their optimal and are at peace, emotionally too.

4 important employment strategies to help the Black employees

Racial Equality isn’t achieved by just words, it has to be shown too – which means the same given to everyone.

a) Reach out to Black employees

Such unprecedented times call for managers to check in on their employees regularly. Developing a bond beyond ‘work’ cultivates warmth and care within the organization. Managers should place special emphasis on connecting with Black employees to show that the employer is trying to understand the issues they may be facing and to reinforce that they are supported in the workplace.

b) Extra-valued services in the organization

Going beyond the monotonous makes the real difference. Start a mental health support group within the company for its employees where workers can talk about their experiences or just listen.

c) Diverse hiring shouldn’t be the last step

Diversity and Inclusion are two different steps. Various companies have diverse hiring criteria and attaining those criteria doesn’t fulfill the responsibility. Hiring black employees and including them in the organizational structure makes them feel wanted and appreciated.

d) Help white colleagues contribute to the race conversation

Black people shouldn’t be the only ones talking about race. It’s about time that fellow white colleagues need to stop pretending racial tensions don’t exist and start initiating conversations at work. Managers must learn to create safe spaces at work to have these conversations and let employees know it’s okay to talk about incidents that affect society.

Celebrating Black History Month spreads awareness of the movement and how black pioneers and their contribution has shaped the history of the country. It also allows us to pause and remember their stories so we can recognize and acknowledge them. Moreover, innovating the diverse and inclusion policy within the company helps Black people to be more involved in the organization without feeling left out or discriminated against.