Here at Prophix, we will celebrate Black History Month by sharing with our employees a curated selection of books, virtual tours, recipes, and movies that honor Black history. We will also put up a few fun activities for you throughout February, so stay tuned for that!
We’ll promote family movies, such as Selma and Hidden Figures, that depict the lives of Black heroes. Our monthly book club has chosen to read The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole. Cole’s book describes the struggle against racism in Canada during 2017, chronicling the author’s role as an activist and the impact of systemic racism in Canadian society.
We’ll have a guest chef teach an online cooking class with classic Black-inspired dishes. Hopefully this gets some ideas flowing as to what you can do for Black History Month, but I’d love to hear what you already have planned - even if it’s outside of the workplace!
We are a very diversified group but for the entire month of February we highlight different people in history. Some are well know from history and others are modern day. Its nice to have a history refresher or learn new things too. They also let you share people who inspired you
I love that Prophix is taking action! In college I took a course focused on African American History and it was both overwhelming and inspiring. We took a trip to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH. If anyone has the opportunity to go, it is well worth it!
I’ll comment on what we do in our household. We have been watching YouTube videos in the morning before school about Black History Month and learning about a new leader every day!
Thanks @rebecca.broaddus for sharing and I definitely want to visit the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in OH when I have the opportunity.
That’s amazing @emily.anauo and a great way to celebrate Black History Month as a family. We discuss a fact in black history every night during dinner and allow our children to ask us questions. The toughest question I had to answer was if I have ever experienced racism and I sadly had to tell them yes. That sparked a big conversation on how to deal with it when it occurs and how important it is to be inclusive. Talking is the first step to change.
It’s great to see Prophix is being proactive on this topic and creating community within your organization with the book club and cooking class, all fantastic ideas!
Thanks for these ideas for celebrating Black History Month. Some great thoughts (both by OP and others!).
I took the time watching Hidden Figures with my son (9yo) to pause and make sure he understood what was happening (all the racist rules represented in the film). I love that this movie is about the space program, which really drives home how recent these events were - it can be so easy to view segregation as being a long time ago - or as my son would say “the olden days”.
Great to see efforts for inclusion and understanding. Our company has done several things, but my favorite has been a virtual discussion during a “lunch and learn” with some local minority leaders. They held a very open, real and personal conversation about the challenges in our community and the need for us to serve and gain an understanding of each other’s lives. The part that resonated with me was in response to the question of where to start; they said to lead with love and follow your heart, don’t worry about obstacles, just stick to it and your sincerity will touch someone.
