Celebrate Black History Month with stories from team members
While amplifying Black voices and addressing diversity, equity and inclusion should be a year-round element of your content strategy, February is a wonderful time to specifically honor Black history and people within your company. Be a part of this national celebration and celebrate Black History Month with stories from team members.
Show your audiences your commitment to equity by uncovering and sharing stories from a wide array of voices from all over your organization. And, communicate your company’s dedication to preserving Black history and playing a role in a better Black future through stories from your team members.
To get you inspired, we’ve rounded up examples of innovative and employee-centric ways companies have celebrated Black History Month through stories.
Intel: Amplifying Black Voices to Communicate Inclusion in the Workplace
On your employer brand channels, show how diverse members of your organization have positively benefited from your culture to communicate inclusion. Employee stories are this proof of culture in action.
In this story from LaToya, a Black technologist at Intel, she shares how she experienced bias earlier in her career at other organizations. And, how she is now able to bring her authentic self to work at Intel.
“Getting out of school and job searching, I would use my name on my resume and get no real feedback. One day, I tried this experiment where I used my middle name, Lynn. And calls, emails, feedback. With Intel, I put my name back on my resume. They were looking for Black women to bring into their company… that made me trust Intel more and believe in them more.”
LaToya Bailey, Product Development Engineer at Intel
After LaToya Bailey tells her story, we hear from another Black woman named LaToya Smith who is earlier in her career at Intel. To close out the video, LaToya Smith shares her gratitude for women like LaToya Bailey who were authentically themselves and opened the doors for future women like her to proudly use her Black-identifying name.
Labcorp: Highlighting the Impact of Employee Resource Groups
While the existence of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) alone isn’t proof of an inclusive culture, they are filled with team members impacted by and leading the way on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion journey in your organization.
If your company has an ERG for Black team members and allies, interview members to discover their stories. How have they have experienced inclusion in your organization? What impact has the ERG had on their lives inside and outside of work? How are they leading the way or benefitting from the group’s progress?
The global life sciences company, Labcorp, celebrated Black History Month by highlighting the stories of PULSE ERG members, their group for Black colleagues and allies. This video was the first of 10 videos shared throughout the year to celebrate Labcorp’s various ERGs.
Learn more about this strategy, and the timely and timeless stories captured, in our Labcorp case study.
LexisNexis: Show Impact Outside the Workplace
If your company is intentionally working towards correcting racial inequities in our society, Black History Month is a great opportunity to highlight the employee stories behind this important work.
For example, LexisNexis shared stories from its Fellowship initiative with the African Ancestry Network and LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation. This fellowship is part of LexisNexis’s overall commitment to diversity in the company, and the Fellows are working to eliminate systemic racism in legal systems and build a culture of inclusion.
These stories can serve so many audiences all year long: early careers, candidates interested in proof of culture and yes, as celebratory stories for Black History Month. Significantly, these stories show how LexisNexis is going beyond the confines of the workplace and actually contributing to diversity and inclusion in society at large in a deeply impactful way.
Capital One: Empowering Employees to Celebrate Black History
To celebrate Black History Month in 2022, Capitol One transformed a select few Capital One Cafés into a unique visual and auditory experience celebrating the contributions of Black individuals. The core project team was made up of Black associates motivated to make the campaign, entitled Forward, a meaningful success.
On its outstanding careers blog, Tina John-Marcel, Vice President of Design and Creative Director of the campaign, shares,
“After the events of 2020, it was important for Black associates to have an active voice in bringing ‘Forward’ to life. ‘Forward’ isn’t just another way for the company to acknowledge the contributions of Black people across the diaspora, it’s also a way to build and nurture a sense of belonging for Black associates at Capital One.”
Learn more about Forward on the Capital One careers blog.
Cisco: Communicate Corporate Social Responsibility
If your company has made a commitment to organizations that address anti-racism, Black History Month is a great opportunity to reaffirm your commitment and highlight the voices of individuals driving the efforts forward.
In 2020, Cisco made a five-year commitment to the Black community as well as a blueprint for how Cisco will respond to injustice and address inequity. In 2022, Scott McGregor, who leads the company’s commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), published a post on Cisco’s blog updating on the company’s efforts and what the project has meant to him personally.
Almost two years later, I am helping to lead one of the largest philanthropic efforts for HBCUs in corporate history, while also fulfilling a lifelong dream of giving back to a community that shaped the leader I am today. Our commitment and framework for HBCUs was launched in May of last year. [As of 2022], we have impacted more than 30 schools in 11 states through technology investments. We have awarded $12.5 million in endowments and $7.5 million in technology upgrades for STEM students, and we have a deep alliance with our partners including the Student Freedom Initiative.
While the numbers alone prove Cisco’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, communicating the progress through the team member’s eyes shows the heart, and people, behind the effort.
You can read the post in its entirety on Cisco’s blog.
Amplify Black Voices in February and All Year Long
Recognize your Black team members in February, and the other 11 months of the year, by capturing their stories.
And, don’t stop at Black History Month — capture stories and create content surrounding all cultural celebrations on the calendar! Our comprehensive Diversity and Inclusion Content Calendar details all the essential heritage months and dates of 2023.