Please stop asking (and indirectly forcing) your Black employees to stand on a soapbox and share their stories. Nobody wants to feel tokenized. Instead, you can consider the following alternatives:

Analyze what the leadership on your C and D suite level looks like and create a strategic recruiting plan so that diverse candidates can be interviewed fairly, and existing employees can realistically seek upward mobility.
Adjust your organizational scope to include local recruiting efforts to target diverse candidates.
Research programs that offer education and business grants and resources for Black students, veterans and/or youth, and prioritize philanthropic collaboration and partner with these groups (B2B).
Seek clients that align with your organizational ethics and support missions that target underserved communities and/or emerging populations.

As companies continue to honor the contributions of the wonderfully melanated in the wonderful month of February, they should work towards budget-friendly tactics to extend the honor year-round. Allow opportunities for open and free speech, embrace the differences of your employees, stay away from color blinding and remember, Black people are multifaceted. (We like nitro cold brews and yoga too.)

Janei Holder

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed