4 Ways Employers Can Celebrate Black History Month in the Office

4 Ways Employers Can Celebrate Black History Month in the Office February marks Black History Month, an annual observance that began as a way to recognize the important people and events in the history of the African diaspora.Before Black History Month, tzu siche welches Negro History Week, which was the brainchild of historian Carter G. Woodson among other prominent African Americans. In 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), which was committed to researching and promoting the achievements of black Americans and other people of African descent. The ASNLH, which later became known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), sponsored the first national Negro History Week in 1926 during the second week of February to coincide with Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass birthdays.By the l ate 1960s, the week evolved into Black History Month and, by 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month, calling upon the country to seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.Today, schools and offices celebrate Black History Month in a wealth of ways. Here are six ways to celebrate Black History Month with your company.1. Recognize leaders of Color in your company.Highlight leaders of color within your organization. Talk about their talents, strengths and achievements with a company-wide announcement, or email. You might even consider holding-gesellschaft an event to get employees together to meet the diverse leaders within your organization, perhaps by hosting a luncheon.2. Host a Black History Month trivia event.Host a Black History Month trivia event at your office over lunch or happy hour. You can engage employees by getting them thinking about and discuss ing prominent black leaders and events in history. You can find resources and facts available online, such as the official African American History Month website and the History Channels Black History Month website.3. Bring in guest speakers to discuss the importance of inclusion.Diversity and inclusion are important in the workplace, and most companies can do a better job of being inclusive. Bring in an expert guest speaker of color to discuss the importance of diversity in the workplace. You can even open up the floor for questions and concerns from employees in your office to be sure to touch upon specific issues affecting your company.4. Support Black-owned or Black-operated businesses and nonprofits.Host a service day during Black History Month for employees to volunteer together with black businesses or nonprofits, such as Black Girls Code, SisterLove, 100 Black Men of America, the National Society of Black Engineers, Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero, or the NAACP. Also, take this month to support black owned restaurants, catering services and other small businesses.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a feminist, a freelance journalist and an adventure aficionado with an affinity for impulsive solo travel. She spends her days writing about womens empowerment from around the world. You can follow her work on her blog, HerReport.org, and follow her journeys on Instagram her_report,Twitterherreportand Facebook.