RECOGNIZING JUNETEENTH: The Do’s and Don’ts
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, commemorates the effective end of slavery in America. This year, help your organization recognize Juneteenth in a way that supports allyship, encourages equality and inclusivity, and promotes a workplace that celebrates Black culture.
By sharing insights from their recent article, How Companies and Individuals Can Use Juneteenth to Practice Active Allyship on FastCompany.com, we seek to amplify the work of Dr. Evelyn Carter & Kiva Willson, two Black female leaders whose careers have focused on helping build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization.
Here are some do’s and don’ts your organization can use to commemorate Juneteenth this year, according to Dr. Evelyn Carter & Kiva Willson:
If you are looking for more information on supporting employees in the workplace, check out our post titled Juneteenth: A Guide to Allyship at Work
Do: Share Educational Resources
This holiday is a day for celebrating Black culture, amplifying Black voices, and reflecting on how present-day systems of racism continue to oppress and harm Black Americans, and Black people around the world. The most important first step to practicing active allyship for non-Black people is to educate yourself on the significance of this holiday, as well as the present-day impacts of anti-Black racism in your country.
Do: Encourage Volunteerism with Resources & PTO
On the day of Juneteenth (or the observed weekday holiday), consider giving your team PTO to volunteer or contribute in a way that supports community and societal equity, justice, and the empowerment of the Black community. As Carter and Wilson explain, "positioning is key here." Ensuring the meaning doesn’t get lost as a simple “day off” is crucial to practicing active allyship and maintaining the integrity of the holiday.
Celebrate Black History in Your Workplace
Instill Empathy & Understanding
Check out our Empathy workshop to give your team a space to build perspective and understanding around each person's diverse background.
Don’t: Ask Black Employees to Organize a Juneteenth Event
Black history is a shared, global history – By defaulting to relying on Black employees or Employee Resource Group (ERG) to organize an event for Juneteenth, especially without forethought or intention, may have the opposite intended impact – deepened feelings of exhaustion or exclusion faced by Black employees on a daily basis. Instead, consider organizing or amplifying existing events that center around justice-driven, community volunteering, providing opportunities to deepen our collective understanding of Juneteenth, and focusing on practical, anti-racist organizational policy.
Do: Focus on Anti-Racism at the Policy Level
As an organization, one of the most meaningful and powerful ways we can recognize Juneteenth is to genuinely and candidly explore opportunities for improvement. When it comes to creating a more inclusive and justice-based organization, senior leaders must understand their accountability to make meaningful changes to policies, practices, and traditions that impact organizational culture and marginalize or oppress Black employees, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Every organization has work to do when it comes to building Anti-Racist cultures – creating an actionable, strategic roadmap that audits your systems, including recruiting, performance management, and even team-building practices, must be a top priority.
Do: Consider Your Role
How do your actions, or lack thereof, perpetuate racism and Black oppression? It’s important to take time to reflect on your actions, life experiences, privilege, and/or beliefs (past and present) that may be, knowingly or not, perpetuating racism and Black oppression. Consider how you can be an advocate through actions on the community level, but also in conversations with friends and family. How can you educate? How can you call out racism, even when it is unconscious?
In conclusion, while Anti-Racism and Justice must be supported by our societal structures, societies are built on the actions of individuals. As Ijoema Oluo, American editor and bestselling author of 'So You Want to Talk About Race' writes, "Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself." Racism takes many forms, both small and large, and all destroy our communities. This Juneteenth is a wonderful opportunity to go from identifying as "Not Racist" to "Anti-Racist" through active allyship.
From the team at On the Goga, Happy Juneteenth!
