How to Prepare for Black History Month
⏱ Time to start preparing Black History Month (BHM) UK
“Wait, isn’t that in October?” Correct. However we, and many people in our community, have found that companies leave things a bit too late to clear budgets and create a BHM experience that is truly authentic and impactful for the entire team (remember last week’s discussion on Tokenism)
This is an opportunity to celebrate and elevate Black talent, creativity and contributions within your team and foster a greater sense of understanding between different identity groups. Here’s how to get ahead of the game.
This is the first in a two-part series, more tips to follow here.
Start Now - Don’t let BHM end up as an afterthought. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, so, invest time, money and effort into it planning now. This includes allocating significant funds toward speakers, workshops and special activations. Contributors shouldn’t be asked to work for free
Remember that Black stories and experiences are diverse, too - There isn’t ‘one’ singular Black experience or one dimension of history to tell. Take time to delve into a variety of experiences for a more impactful BHM
Similarly, be intersectional - Amplify the voices of identifies within specific intersections — e.g. Black Women, the Black LBGTQ+ community, the Black Disabled community, and Multiracial people of Black heritage.
Remember that October is a starting point, not the end point - Your activities during BHM shouldn’t completely end once October is over, continue to look for meaningful moments to celebrate and engage the community
Ensure your decision-making process is diverse. The team planning and executing BHM should be as inclusive as possible. However, this does not mean all the work should fall to Black team members — inclusion is a team effort.
Get external input - Don’t be afraid to get an expert. Sense check campaign ideas with independent organisations to mitigate potential risks e.g. Hustle Crew :)
Black History Month - Do's and Don'ts
✅ Do set aside a budget for the month
❓ Don’t ask Black talent to work for free
✅ Do celebrate Black voices, experiences and contributions
❓ Don’t assign all responsibility for the month to Black people
✅ Do acknowledge Black contributions globally
❓ Don’t only focus on the US. The UK has a rich Black history, and BHM US is in February
✅ Do showcase how your organisation has supported their Black colleagues outside of BHM
❓ Don’t be performative, only see this as a temporary initiative or rely on Black team members to do all the educating
Future-proof your workforce with Hustle Crew
Would you like to improve your diversity and training programmes within your company?
Do you want to raise cultural awareness and understanding across all communities in your company?
Would you like to retain your top underrepresented talent by supporting them with the best resources?
Welcome to Hustle Crew.
Since 2016, we’ve been providing. Since 2016, we’ve been helping companies like Sky, Stella McCartney and more to become more diverse, through our Recommended Programme — which includes ‘Fostering Inclusion’ and ‘Understanding Bias’ workshops. Navigating conversations about diversity can be challenging, but driving long-lasting change in your company is possible.