How To Plan Black History Month
A couple of weeks ago myself and Marvyn hosted a free webinar to help companies get their head around planning for Black History Month.
With October being (literally) around the corner, we thought we’d share our insights for those of you still looking for support.
To help those still working out what this next month looks like for them, we are also offering content you can book for your company or organisation – from curated panel conversations, keynote talks, seminar and workshops, we have a range of products available, delivered by our network of experts.
Get in touch now to book a meeting with our team!
Here they are, our 10 tips to consider when planning for Black History Month.
1. BAME Over
Now more than ever it is important to address the fact that different ethnic groups are not a monolith.
The term BAME is problematic for a number of reasons, first and foremost the fact that most people who technically fall into this category don’t self-identify as BAME. Secondly, any data and reporting based on this terminology is essentially falsified as one can have a large percentage of employees from another ethnic group and not a single Black employee, whilst still present as diverse on BAME standards.
This Black History Month is as good a time as any to say goodbye to BAME.
And for those who are asking ‘So what do we call this group of people?’; the answer is simple: call each ethnic group what they are without putting everyone in the same pot.
2. Create Your Word And Commit
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the outcry for justice for Black Lives, we have seen many businesses either make big statements with little follow through, or make no statements at all.
Black History Month is a great starting point to let your employees and customers know, what it is you are setting out to do to contribute to change in your business and industry. But rather than making promises you can’t keep it is important to asses, what it is your business actually can do and how you will do it.
Getting expert in this process is probably one of the best things you can do as it will help you make statements that are authentic and actually achievable.
3. Your Staff Are Not The Answer
Whilst this is not a new phenomenon, the recent rise in awareness around racial injustice and the need for systemic change across all industries, has led to many employers looking for answers within their own teams. This is problematic for a couple of reasons: firstly, not all Black people are willing (and shouldn’t have to be) to bear the brunt of this work. Chairing a D&I board, representing the Black staff and working to bring change is not only laborious but can take an immense toll on Black people’s mental health. The other challenge is, that often those who are deeply embedded in an organisation can themselves have blind spots when it comes to the change that needs to happen, as well as the fact that challenging internal processes and structures is always a lot harder when those you challenge are the ones paying your salary.
Lastly, more often than not, the employees investing time and energy into this work aren’t sufficiently remunerated for their work, do it on top of their usual job and hardly receive the acknowledgment and support required.
There are many healthy ways of engaging your employees in the journey, and of course some people will be more than happy to support in these matters – making sure they are being compensated and supported however, is the employers responsibility.
4. BHM Is Black Joy Not Black Pain
Too often the idea of Black History Month is linked to a narrative of defeat and oppression. This Black History Month, focus on celebrating the contribution of the Black Community to society, celebrate Black Excellence and celebrate Black Joy. Create space for Black History that is underrepresented in mainstream education, Black History that is truly our history. From the continent before colonisation to the incredible stories and histories throughout and after colonisation and enslavement.
From representation to true diversity, this approach can and will (if applied broadly enough) shift a narrative not only for us in the Black Community, but for us as a society.
5. Celebrate Your Staff
One way to focus on Black Joy rather than pain, is using Black History Month as a starting point to introduce ways to acknowledge and celebrate your Black staff. The benefits of creating such a tradition, a tradition that can then be replicated across the year, celebrating the contribution of staff from other ethnic backgrounds or lived experiences, are obvious: from representation internally to an improved workplace culture, a celebratory environment will strengthen moral across all layers.
6. Create Safe Spaces for Your Black Staff
The traumatic impact of recent events on Black peoples mental health is been discussed at length. From seeing violence against Black bodies on our phone screens almost weekly, to the newfound confidence of people with racist views in our day to day lives, collective trauma is a real experience for many.
With the time we spend at work (whether virtually or IRL) having spaces to navigate these things in the workplace becomes increasingly important. Not only to process the things happening in the world around us, but to have a safe space to discuss incidents of discrimination at work and potentially receive external support in navigating those.
The important part is that those safe spaces must be given the resource to operate and function well.
If you’re unsure where to start, we are here to support on this with experts such as coaches and mediators from our network as well as the strategy required for those spaces to be effective.
7. Celebrate Your Industry
Another way to celebrate Black joy and your staff during Black History Month is to celebrate Black contribution and excellence in your industry. So often the status quo of what we know about our industries is told through the lens of whiteness even through all industries – from the creative sector to medicine, have notable milestones that were shaped by Black contribution. Highlighting and celebrating those throughout Black History Month and beyond is a crucial part of shifting a narrative and diversifying your workplace.
8. Use Insights
To effectively bring change to your business or organisation, it is crucial to base any strategy on hard facts. Understanding the make-up of your customer base, the customers you’d like to reach but aren’t yet, the demographic of the city you are based in and, of course, the make-up of your workplace are crucial factors when deciding on what a truly authentic and effective strategy for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will look like for your business.
Whether it is conducting the appropriate research or rolling out surveys internally, investing into generating data always pays off.
We can support you in designing surveys for your company, help you conduct the necessary research and more.
9. Donate & Remunerate
Too often we hear stories of Black creatives, speakers, writers and influencers being asked to share their time and expertise for free over this period (and beyond). Not only is that not fair, but it is not ethical. In the same way your company and organisation would pay for experts in other fields to come in and upskill your employees or networks, Black experts deserve the same. If you’re unsure of what to pay, ask people for their fee. Always a great place to start!
Another thing to consider is donating to Black led organisations across the UK or using this opportunity to announce long term partnerships with such an organisation.
At BELOVD we are home to an extensive directory and network from talent to organisations to support or Black Owned businesses to partner with, which all our clients can access.
Get in touch to find out more.
10. Use Experts
Last, but most certainly not least, the best advice we can give you is to engage experts in your approach. Hopefully your organisation is committing to change beyond Black History Month, and to implement that it will require the right strategy and approaches as well as tools to deliver that change.
The money spent on bringing in experts is often a much lower expense than the money it could cost getting it wrong (we’ll just mention Pepsi at this point and leave it there ;) ).
Whether you choose to work with us at BELOVD or any of the other great D&I consultants out there, bringing in experts to help you translate good intentions to real and long lasting change will be worth it for years to come.
I hope you found these tips helpful!
What will you implement into your Black History Month planning?
We’d love to hear from you! Let us know by sharing in the comments below.
And don’t forget, if you need support on any of the above, don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing hello@belovd.agency or booking a discovery call with us via this link.