Black History Month – Reclaiming Narratives

The 2024 Black History Month theme is Reclaiming Narratives. It aims to invite every member of the Black community to take part in shaping how their stories are told. It also aims to empower the next generation, to inspire and educate, to go beyond the traditional focus on slavery and civil rights.

So, What More can Businesses Do?

Diverse and Inclusive Workplace

Creating a workplace culture that is diverse, inclusive and equal is key to all positive work cultures. Enabling voices from a variety of backgrounds makes for a rich, empowering and inclusive workplace. It can go some way to preventing prejudice and discrimination but replacing it with understanding and supporting behaviours.

Think about where and how you recruit your new talent. Could you advertise in different places, to reach a different pool of candidates.

Ensure that you live and breathe your values, so that from recruitment through to offboarding you are demonstrating a workplace culture that aligns with your values and drives the success of your business.

Organise a Diversity and Inclusion Event

Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace is the best way you can support your minority workers. Many unconscious biases and workplace harassment directed at people of colour can result from a lack of education.

Thus, organising a diversity workshop that focuses on topics affecting the Black community, you can help educate and build greater empathy and understanding amongst all employees, encouraging a more inclusive workplace.

You could hire an expert to talk over a Zoom webinar or invite artists from the Black community to talk about their life experiences. Such training programmes are beneficial to everyone and enhance employee engagement at work. At Hallidays HR, we can design bespoke training that fits your organisation’s needs, helping you create a more inclusive and engaged workplace.

Be a Mentor

You cannot achieve success without help. To uplift and promote Black talent at work, you could become a mentor for a young professional, or a racial minority co-worker.

By showing your support through a mentorship approach, you can nurture future Black leaders who will challenge inequality at work and in their communities.

Organise Diversity Training Programmes

The best way to educate your employees about Black history and create an equal and safe working environment for everyone, is to deliver Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training for your employees.

Share and Celebrate

Having the Black community within your workplace share their stories of struggles and of achievement can aid inclusivity and appreciation. It can also help to empower other employees to be more confident of their own personal achievements.

Sharing stories of people in history that have achieved great things in times of adversity can also create positive diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Search for not only the well-known people but also the less and try to pick those that can relate to your business industry.

For example a science based business might choose scientists who have discovered great things such as Marie Maynard Daly who was the 1st Black person to receive a PhD and discovered the relationship between cholesterol and heart health. Alternatively, a creative industry might choose to celebrate the achievements of Zadie Smith, an award-winning novelist who is a Black History advocate known for her impactful storytelling and contributions to literature.

Establish an Employee Resource Group

As a leader, you should be leveraging employee resource networks to curate educational workshops this Black History Month. There are plenty of companies with a resource group that highlights the lived experiences of the African diaspora. If you do not have an Employee Resource Group, Black History Month is the perfect time to introduce one.

Initiate an Anti-Racism and Anti-Bullying Campaign

In the UK, Black employees are disproportionately affected by racial discrimination and bullying in the workplace. According to a report from Trades Union Congress (TUC), Black workers are almost twice as likely to experience unfair treatment at work compared to their white colleagues.

This Black History Month, consider launching an anti-racism and anti-bullying campaign in your workplace. By addressing racial discrimination head-on, you can create a safer and more inclusive environment where all employees are treated with respect and dignity.

How Hallidays HR can help

If you don’t have a policy or need one reviewing, please get in touch to ensure you are compliant with the new legislation. If you would like to discuss any of the above in more detail, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 0161 476 8276 or email. And of course, visit the website: Hallidays HR Website and our LinkedIn page: Hallidays HR LinkedIn