Juneteenth reflects an opportunity to build more awareness around Black History.
June is a great time to build awareness and celebrate culture. Significant diversity holidays occurring in June include Pride Month, Juneteenth, Loving Day, and more. Leaders can engage fully in these holidays and heritage celebrations to gain insights into creating equitable and inclusive workplaces. This article, in particular, will focus on non-performative engagement for Juneteenth.
The history archives tell us that Juneteenth represents an opportunity to celebrate independence for the Black Community. In a nutshell, the origin story of Juneteenth dates back to 1865, underlining the widespread emancipation from slavery. The migration from a painful past yielded celebrations that occurred primarily within families and communities. Today, with Juneteenth gaining additional prominence with the designation of an official federal holiday in 2021 and an increased focus on amplifying and supporting Black and Brown communities, the prioritization of the holiday in the workplace has skyrocketed.
We must be mindful that well-known companies have bumbled and stumbled in celebrating Juneteenth with actions that yielded negative consumer and employee feedback. For example, Walmart's recent deployment of Juneteenth Red Velvet Ice Cream received much backlash and was quickly removed from the market with a follow-on apology from leaders. Inclusive Leaders should note that there is sensitivity around actions taken to acknowledge Juneteenth. However, the sensitivity should not deter us from committing to building awareness, appreciation, and action plans for supporting Black and Brown communities.
Protestors hold pictures of George Floyd as they march during a Juneteenth rally at Grand Army Plaza ... [+]
Here's what inclusive leaders should keep in mind as they take action to acknowledge and celebrate Juneteenth.
Get A Temperature Check From Impacted Audiences
What is the appetite for celebrating Juneteenth? Some are delighted that there is an increased focus on learning more about Black History. Others are still dealing with remnants of injustice across the board. And as such, a Juneteenth celebratory effort may be unwelcomed, despite best efforts. Ensuring diverse representation is included in planning efforts will go a long way in minimizing bumbles and stumbles that do more harm than good.
Check Relevant Records(i.e., Workplace/Leadership Resume)
What have we done to date that we can reference to avoid performative labeling? Ben n Jerry's ongoing advocacy work integrated into their way of doing business signals authenticity. We must do our due diligence for previous actions can invalidate well-intentioned current efforts.
Check Donations To Ensure Consistent Commitments
There must be intentionality around philanthropy. A tip here for us is to lean into trusted advisors to make wise decisions on where we are providing funding.
Improve Workplace Diversification
Fine-tune your commitment to diversifying and creating inclusive opportunities in the workplace. Revisit decision-making and make improvements. We must ask ourselves if we have included the right representation in ongoing decision-making for our workplaces.
Educate Marketing Teams
We must ensure those with Marketing responsibilities have the proper training and commitment to inclusive leadership. Marketing collateral must have rigor and checkpoints to ensure it lands as intended.
Invest In Capturing Lessons Learned
Revisit Juneteenth post-Juneteenth to complete lessons learned. We must provide a vehicle for our audiences to share feedback with us. Approaching in this manner will provide cues for future acknowledgment and celebrations.
What's the bottom line? As inclusive leaders, we must take action to acknowledge and intentionally plan for Juneteenth. The ideas mentioned above give us food for thought to ensure we walk with more confidence for Juneteenth and beyond.
