Black History Month: An Assessment

Originally founded as a week’s celebration in early 20th century America, Black History Month began in Britain in the mid-1980s.  Firms and businesses now devote significant resources to programming events for the month in order to recognise their black talent and demonstrate their continuing commitment toward race equity.  The programmes for the largest businesses are broad and impressive, and a lot of time and effort is required to make the month of October a successful demonstration of a commitment to black equity and the amplification of black voices.  

Too often, however, there can be limited engagement beyond our black peers.  And many – not least black professionals – are increasingly questioning  whether Black History Month is a vehicle for change, or a distraction which for one month appears to demonstrate change but rarely offers answers.

Put bluntly, there is a risk that Black History Month has become a sacred cow, and that it will soon have little value.  A corporation courts controversy if it asks openly whether Black History Month is still worthwhile.  We, however, are able to ask that question directly, and we have done so.  

In late 2023 and early 2024, we met with representatives from our Signatory organisations, including leaders of internal employee resource groups/networks, HR and DEI professionals and senior black talent, to explore the current value of Black History Month in supporting the experiences of black talent and the business strategy of each organisation.  In particular, we wanted to understand what is done well and valued by staff, and what could be considered more thoughtfully.  The discussions with Signatory representatives yielded a number of insights.

Insights and Conclusions

Programme Planning and Organisation ‍

The resources allocated to programme planning for Black History Month and the structure of the programme vary significantly across our Signatory cohort, primarily reflecting the relative size of the organisations.  The largest organisations convene very experienced teams spanning networks, marketing, communications, business and other relevant functions.  In the smallest organisations, planning and delivery are inevitably dependent on one or two individuals. Overall, it appears that the expectations and efforts of black talent drive the delivery of Black History Month.  Absent their involvement, organisations would feel significantly less able to engage with it.

Pressure points that cause difficulty for organisers are:

• A struggle to adequately address the complexity of the global black diaspora, spanning any number of complex categorisations.  
• Budgetary pressures, with a concern that there is competition between networks and employee resource groups for a limited pot of money.
• The pressure to find sufficiently high-profile external speakers to draw in attendees and encourage engagement beyond black colleagues.  
• A lack of strategic direction from leadership as to what themes would best justify investment that supports the business objectives of the organisation.  
• Where there is a ‘bottom up’ approach toward Black History Month, a concern that work is driven by passionate, but often more junior, staff, who may become disillusioned by a perceived lack of support and prioritisation.

Content and Attendance

There are a variety of views about the purpose of Black History Month in business, reflecting differences between individuals and organisations in their consideration of history and race equity.   Some want a focus on history (celebrating and educating); others on engaging as broadly as possible (with celebrity speakers); and others on driving change (exploring structural barriers and identifying interventions).

The following points emerged from feedback on the content of and attendance at Black History Month events:

• White leadership and other colleagues who are not of black heritage can feel that it is not their place to attend events, particularly when there are discussions about the need for safe spaces to discuss sensitive issues
• There is a feeling that events need a celebrity name to get attendees into the room.  
• Where organisations are unable to allocate budget to a dedicated programme, it falls to minority staff to drive conversations. Black colleagues may then feel a pressure to become the champion and educator on race.  
• There were few examples where individual events could be tied to themes or business strategy beyond the very broad aim of supporting and increasing diversity.  
• More positively, events can be a valuable opportunity for the small number of senior black leaders to have visibility with junior staff.  
• Some black and ethnicity-focused employee resource groups are already collaborating to publicise events and to maximise opportunities for networking, and to support those who have fewer events in their own organisations.

Long-term Impact

A particular source of disappointment was the feeling that after Black History Month, everyone moved on.  This led to frustration as to what celebrating Black History Month can achieve.  Some noted that it has become a general ‘black celebration month’, but that it needs a greater focus on impact.  Observations included the following:

• It is hypocritical to celebrate black colleagues, whilst not establishing corresponding pipelines for their progression within the organisation. 
• Black history and futures have to be connected, but year-round work and discussions were often missing.   Black History Month can be a showcase programme, but it needs to take place as part of a year-round programme of work on black representation. 
• Black History Month is not the right vehicle through which to drive cultural change.  It places too much strain on a single month and on black colleagues.  
• Collaboration and cross-organisational attendance would facilitate longer-term networking and career development for individuals. 

Recommendations‍

It is clear from our study and frank discussions within our Signatory cohort that Black History Month provides an important opportunity in the year to recognise black colleagues and to educate, listen and reflect on their history and experiences.  However, there is a risk that it may deliver the opposite of what it is intended to achieve, and that, unless carefully programmed and delivered, it may make staff cynical of its purpose and resentful of the time and effort devoted to it.  

1. Importantly, Black History Month should engage, and be seen to engage, as broad a range of staff as possible.  The observation that black history is everyone’s history may feel trite, but it is rarely emphasised.

2. Black History Month should ideally be part of an integrated approach to the overall strategic objectives of each organisation.  Leadership should therefore give careful consideration to the aims and objectives of Black History Month, and communicate this in the context of the wider strategic objectives of the organisation, and resources should be allocated accordingly.  The organisation and delivery of the programme should not be the responsibility of junior employees; still less should the programme of events be unsupported by senior leadership.

3. For the future, organisations should actively consider collaboration on programmes and events to maximise the impact and benefits of Black History Month for themselves and their employees.

‍