Addressing Racial Injustice in the Office

The Black Lives Matter Movement isn’t just being seen and heard on the streets and the news, it’s also a major point of conversation in the workplace. Right now, companies need to acknowledge the racial inequality taking place in the office and in the world, but posting a black square on Instagram isn’t enough. Supporting the BLM Movement is certainly a start, but organizations have to go beyond simply condemning police brutality and racism.

That’s why the series “Beyond Black Squares and Hashtags” was created. This podcast series features conversations meant to help organizations move toward racial equality in the workplace. Black professionals are interviewed in each episode and share their various experiences being a person of color in the workplace. They also give actionable advice on how organizations can combat racial inequality. 

The first episode in the series features Robert H. Johnson, Jr. in “Show Accountability with a Plan.” This two-part episode conveys steps corporate leaders can take to go beyond BLM social media posts and truly make a difference within their organizations. Robert does this by posing several questions meant to get company leaders thinking about the state of the world as well as how they want to treat their employees.   

The second episode in the series is titled “Goodbye Performative Wokeness” with Jazmine Reed-Clark. In this episode, Jazmine dives into code-switching within the workplace. In this particular context, code-switching is used to describe how people of color feel the need to adjust their appearance, voice, and style to fit the office culture. Essentially, Black employees feel the need to hide part of themselves in order to succeed at work. Hearing this new perspective puts an emphasis on the importance of inclusion in the workplace, and Jazmine provides practical solutions for supporting diversity. 

The third episode of the series is “No More Secret Allies” with Jodi-Ann Burey. This episode talks about how some people claim to support racial equality but are not willing to step forward and publicly show their support. Jodi-Ann also discusses the impact of racial stress and unhealthy environments for people of color. Jodi-Ann has first-hand experience in this arena as she experienced pain for three years before finally being diagnosed with cancer.

Racial equality in the workplace is vital not only for societal progress but also for the success of your business. Employees and customers want to know where an organization stands on important issues like racial equality, and support isn’t enough. Action is required to drive change and make a real difference. The first step toward improving your company is to educate yourself on what people of color have to face every day. “Beyond Black Squares and Hashtags” is the perfect place to start when working toward racial equality in the workplace.