If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.

____

Black History is hitting differently this year.

During #BlackHistoryMonth in the U.S., we’re reflecting on the year we just left behind. Between a still-ongoing pandemic that has disproportionately impacted low-income communities of color, our summer of racial reckoning and an important election: it was all a lot.

We saw hundreds of companies respond to last year’s racial reckoning following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many other Black lives in a myriad of ways: Calls for #BlackLivesMatter, corporate donations to advocacy groups, CEO’s condemning racism, pledges to anti-racism training. And Twitter was no exception.

While these tactics remain important, we can’t help but wonder what progress companies have made in one crucial area: making Black lives matter inside the workplace by hiring, promoting and retaining Black talent. The answer is simple: the progress is not enough.

It’s not a secret that ever since tech companies started disclosing their diversity numbers, there has been limited progress and still much more to do. While we have doubled the number in recent years, Black employees comprise only 7% of Twitter’s US workforce. We recognize that we still have a lot of work to do, and we’re committed to continuing to grow our Black employee population, #UntilWeAllBelong.

The best time to honor Black lives is not when it's convenient to us — when it's making headlines, when hashtags are trending and when protests are happening — but during the moments when the rest of the world may have forgotten and when we can feel the silence. After the year we’ve had and while it is relevant — even beneficial — to pledge, donate and share statements when the issue is topical, we encourage you to self-reflect by asking the question, "what am I doing now?”

This year, we’re using #BlackHistoryMonth to continue to challenge ourselves — and call on our peers in the tech industry — to do better. As an industry, we must honor Black lives and Black talent today. We are all in this together, and we’ll need an army of committed advocates at each company to make substantial progress. Some ways you can practice your commitment:

Dalana Brand

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed