How to Celebrate Black History Month at Work

Black History Month (BHM) is observed in the US and Canada for the month of February, and in Ireland and the UK for the month of October, as a time to recognize and celebrate members of the Black and African diaspora.

If you’re looking for ways to include BHM celebrations in your employee engagement and inclusion programming, it may feel daunting to approach such an important topic alone. We’re here to help.

We convened a paid focus group of 15 Black employees based in the US from various industries and age groups to discuss what makes Black History Month celebrations in the workplace feel meaningful, how workplaces might miss the mark, and what companies can do better to make the shift from performative support for Black employees to genuine inclusivity efforts.

*Editor's Note: Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and concision.

Top 5 Tips for Celebrating Black History Month at Work

1. Seek Out Input and Feedback from Your Black Employees

Look for ways to include your Black employees’ input and feedback while making their participation voluntary.

Most of our respondents report they’d value a meaningful celebration of Black History Month, and some would like to be involved in the planning of it. However, you should be very careful not to offload the labor of planning or implementing your company’s BHM celebrations onto your Black employees.

In her article on the biggest mistakes companies make during BHM, antiracism and management expert Dana Brownlee gives this recommendation: “Planning and organizing thoughtful, meaningful BHM programming should require a significant amount of time and energy, and that labor should not be extracted from Black employees. ... Yes, some may make suggestions or volunteer to assist, but that should be their choice exclusively.”

Ways to Involve Employees in Inclusion Programming

• Create a voluntary feedback loop by implementing regular anonymous surveys to gather employee insights, hosting open forums or town hall meetings where employees can share their thoughts and suggestions, or by establishing a suggestion box (physical or digital) where employees can submit ideas for inclusion programming at any time.
• As resources allow over time, consider formalizing employee resource groups (ERGs). ERGs are voluntary, employee-led affinity groups designed to improve employees’ sense of belonging, aid in community-building and employee engagement, and boost retention. They’ve also been around since 1970, with the creation of the National Black Employee Association at Xerox.
• Create or encourage employees to create informal affinity group channels in your company’s Slack or other employee community platforms. These groups can build community across teams and among senior and junior employees.
• Allow employees to self-identify in their employee record, and consider the communities represented in your workforce as you send out surveys to learn how you can better support employees individually and collectively.

2. Recognize Diversity Within the Black Community

As you seek to involve your Black employees in BHM programming, it’s important to remember that your employees of color may self-identify in different ways. For example, some of your Black employees may not identify as African American but as Jamaican, Haitian, or Afrolatino.

Appreciating these differences and distinctions is an important step in planning meaningful BHM celebrations that are inclusive of the communities within the larger Black community.

One of our respondents highlights an experience where her employer applied this type of intersectional lens to their BHM celebrations while providing a great example of active and proactive listening. Employees had felt disappointed in the shorter celebration (February being the shortest month of the year), so the company added a few more days to make BHM as long as other heritage months.

It’s just this sort of active listening another respondent, a middle school educator based in Florida, emphasizes as crucial in understanding where your employees are coming from and how they would most appreciate being seen and supported during events like Black History Month.

“Listen,” she emphasizes. “Listen and stop taking offense to everything an African American person or Black person says to you as being an attack on you. Take yourself out of the situation and try to imagine that you are in the minority living day by day, trying to function in a society that has all these stigmas and stereotypes placed on you.”

Ways to Recognize Diversity in the Black Community

• Listen actively and objectively to your employees, especially as they share who they are and how they want to be seen. By listening with the intent to understand, you can create meaningful, empathetic connections to your employees that will better inform your inclusion programming and elevate the employee experience at your company.
• Recognize the drawbacks of a “color-blind” approach. Without acknowledging race in the workplace, HR and leadership will struggle acknowledging the disparate ways their employees experience the world and their workplaces as a result of their differences. For HR pros, specifically, this makes it more difficult to cultivate inclusion in a meaningful way.

3. Support Black-Owned Businesses, Nonprofits, and Creators

Your support of Black-owned businesses, especially in your area, can go a long way in creating a meaningful impact during Black History Month and beyond. By choosing to invest in these enterprises, you help to strengthen local economies, create jobs, and foster innovation within the community.

Additionally, supporting Black-owned businesses contributes to closing the racial wealth gap while ensuring diverse voices and talents are recognized and valued throughout the year.

How to Support Black-Owned Orgs and Creators

• Host a team breakfast or lunch-and-learn catered by a local, Black-owned restaurant. There’s a reason catered meals are a staple of workplace celebrations. When employees come together to share food, they're able to take a pause from the busy work day and connect on a more human level.
• For remote or hybrid teams, issue gift cards to Black-owned businesses employees can order from online to foster a sense of community across physical divides and introduce your employees to new products and services, vendors, and creators.
• Connect and collaborate with your local Black Chamber of Commerce, and if you’re in retail, consider the diversity of the creators and vendors being represented on your shelves.
• Buy company swag from Black creators and vendors. Sourcing company merchandise from Black creators and vendors not only supports their businesses but also demonstrates a commitment to diversity and representation, allowing the organization to showcase its values through tangible products.

4. Organize Educational Sessions or Inclusion Moments

These educational or inclusion events and experiences can look like weekly lunch-and-learns, online trainings, or bringing in outside speakers, all of which can be part of a larger inclusion and company culture program.

Our respondents emphasize the importance of including everyone in these educational moments and of showing equal support and programming during other heritage months.

How To Create Inclusion Moments

• Create education and awareness opportunities for everyone, not just the employee group Black History Month represents. By broadening the scope of your educational initiatives, organizations can foster a more inclusive environment where all employees gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Black history and culture, thereby promoting empathy and unity across diverse groups.
• Create equal support and programming around other heritage months or days of observance. Ensuring that all cultural and heritage observances receive equal attention and resources demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion, allowing employees from various backgrounds to feel valued and recognized within the organization.
• Don’t just focus your programming on the past. Focus on contributions members of the community are making in the present and on issues the community is facing today. Highlighting contemporary achievements and challenges not only celebrates ongoing contributions but also engages the community in meaningful dialogue about current issues, inspiring action and collaboration towards positive change.
• Include and invite key Black figures and speakers to present at your organizations. Inviting influential Black leaders and speakers provides an opportunity for employees to gain insights from diverse perspectives, enriches the organizational culture, and underscores the importance of representation and leadership within the community.

5. Create a Year-Round Culture of Inclusion

Most of our respondents report having experienced some degree of racial bias in the workplace, causing them significant sadness, frustration, and stress.

Unfortunately, many people of color have these same experiences. A recent Pew Research study found that 41% of Black employees say they've experienced discrimination at work because of their race or ethnicity—significantly more than their Asian (25%), Hispanic (20%), or White (8%) counterparts.

Additionally, our respondents feel they’ve received fewer opportunities to advance than their peers—an experience validated by Bloomberg News analysis of EEO-1 data.

If you want to create a year-round culture of inclusion at your company, celebrating Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a start. But creating a genuinely inclusive work environment where great work can get done involves addressing systemic issues, providing equal opportunities, and fostering a culture of respect and understanding throughout the year.

Ways to Create a Year-Round Culture of Inclusion

• Research employee resource groups, and learn how to run an effective ERG program for all of your employees. By understanding best practices for ERG programs, you can create supportive networks that empower employees, enhance their professional development, and contribute to a more inclusive workplace culture where diverse perspectives are celebrated and leveraged.
• Conduct an audit of your compensation strategy, perform a pay equity analysis, and follow a true merit system for raises and promotions. This process not only ensures fairness and transparency in compensation but also helps to build trust and morale among employees, demonstrating the organization’s commitment to rewarding talent and performance equitably.
• Prioritize inclusive hiring practices and cultivate an employee brand that attracts a diverse talent pool. By opening your talent pool to candidates from all backgrounds and promoting an inclusive workplace, you enhance creativity and innovation within your teams, while also reflecting the diverse customer base you serve, which can lead to better business outcomes.
• Provide diversity and antidiscrimination trainings, and foster psychological safety throughout the company. Your employees should have a clear understanding of how to seek support in adverse situations and feel safe to do so. These initiatives not only educate employees about the importance of diversity and inclusion but also create an environment where everyone feels respected and valued, encouraging open dialogue and collaboration across all levels of the organization.