Black History Month

The yearly celebration of Black History Month began in 1926 in the United States of America by Historian and Journalist Garter G. Wood. He proposed dedicating an entire month to honor the history of Black Americans, to raise awareness of their history and heritage. This month also gives us an opportunity to celebrate the legacies and contributions of activists, politicians, civil rights pioneers and citizens who fought tirelessly for equal rights for the black race. George Washington Carver, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, John Lewis, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, and amongst many others made notable contributions to this fight.

With Black History Month now being global, the focus has shifted to the African Diaspora and the pervasive inequities faced by many black communities across the globe.?The African Diaspora is the mass and worldwide dispersion of people from Africa either by force (as with the Transatlantic slave trades from 1500-1800s) or by necessity.

Bringing this topic into our backyard, the lack of racial diversity in the tech industry is significant – and this racial gap is noticeably pronounced towards black talent. In particular to organizations with Anglo-Saxon presence, interventions to increase racial diversity and black representation often focus on hiring new graduates and current tech talent,?providing dedicated employee networks and even development programs. This is?a small fraction of solving the issue.

As with other diversity and representation issues – the inequality and lack of representation often are deeply rooted in the systemic social issues, from unequal access to education and jobs, varied living standards across racial communities, socialization, generational poverty, and systemic discrimination. Nevertheless, there is much room for hope as both the public and private sectors recognize the importance of this issue and have started to take steps to address it.?

On the other hand, as much as this is a broader societal problem, we as individuals can be catalysts. In other words, it begins with you! No matter who you are in your team, your efforts to know more about black history and acknowledge the issues faced by black communities already go a long way. ?

So, what can you do..?

As an individual:

Take some time to know more about the significance of black culture, check out these videos on Netflix and some LinkedIn Learning?:

• “One Night in? Miami,” the Regina King-directed dramatization of a February 1964 meeting of friends Jim Brown, Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke and Malcolm X. It throws light on all that happened on that incredible night where they meet to discuss their roles in the Civil Rights Movement.
• “Judas and the Black Messiah,” ?a biopic of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton. After being offered a plea deal, he infiltrated the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Civil Rights Party to gather intelligence for the FBI.
• “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom ”, an adaptation of August Wilson’s 1982 depicting the tensions rising in the career of remarkable blues singer Ma Rainey and her band.?
• “BIPOC and emotional intelligence ”, leadership consultant David Foster of Capgemini talks about the importance of social and emotional intelligence in relation to BIPOC.
• “POC, BIPOC, and BAME: Experience and menteeship ” Dr. Rhianna Rogers—cofounder of the award-winning diversity program SPEC/Buffalo Project—walks you through ways to get a great mentor and be a great mentee. Focusing on how to engage with BIPOC/BAME colleagues.?

As a professional:

Being employed in the formal sector, you have the platform to raise awareness on diversity and inclusion issues within your team and management. Some discussion questions to start with:?

• Are there measures to support black team members??
• Do we have a representative workforce knowing that there are black talent in the market?
• Have I observed or witnessed cases of micro-aggression and/or bias towards black colleagues? Were these behaviors trivialized or called out?
• Do my black colleagues actually feel comfortable, safe and treated fairly??

For us here at Allianz Technology, we are proud to be diverse and inclusive, be it in race, ethnicities, cultural groups and all else in between. We know that such diversity doesn’t come easy, and this is why we remain firmly committed to ensuring we are fair and inclusive to all -from continuously improving our processes, policies, culture, to the workplace environment. We are THE place to be for IT, and for YOU.

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