Celebrating Black History Month In The U.S. And Canada 7429

Celebrating Black History Month In The U.S. And Canada

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February 1st marked the beginning of Black History Month in the U.S. and Canada. This is a time for all of us to celebrate Black excellence—an opportunity to commemorate those in our past who did extraordinary things to contribute to the world we live in today. People of African descent in North America have made enormous contributions to their communities, countries, and to the world. That said, the narrative of their contributions has not always acknowledged them. This month is a time to shine light on that part of our collective past.

"My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be equal of any people anywhere," Smalls asserted. "All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."

Robert Smalls
Civil War Hero, Reconstruction Congressman


As part of our observance of Black History Month, we are offering our employees programming throughout the month of February to listen, learn, engage, and connect. Employees will hear from guest speakers, such as former City of Charleston Mayor, Joe Riley, President of Lord Cultural Resources, Joy Bailey-Bryant, and Dr. Brenda Tindal, Director of Education & Engagement at the International African American Museum.

Blackbaud continues to embrace and foster a culture that values diversity, collaboration, and inclusion and we look forward to celebrating Black History Month in the U.S. and Canada as well as other observances throughout the year.

Tell us how you are celebrating Black History Month this year.
News Community News 02/05/2021 2:33pm EST

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4 Comments
We have an ongoing live doc we're adding events and information to, available to all staff to use. We also are planning a virtual event with a teacher of Gullah/Geechee from Harvard's African American languages program to inform us about the Gullah language and culture. As the person helping organize that, I'm especially excited about it. If anyone wants to know more, please DM me; I'm happy to connect you with the teacher, and he's happy to talk to people.
Grace Rose Khalsa‍ this is such a cool idea! My family is from the lowcountry, where the Geechee Gullah culture is prevalent! When I was younger the summer camp I attended would sometimes bring in Geechee story tellers and they were truly mesmerizing!
Bravo Blackbaud!  We have established a committee within our organization called REACH (Racial Equity, Awareness, Community, Hope)  https://www.jackandjillcenter.org/reach/. We also have a book club dedicated to books centered around racial equity. Or first book was "The Color of Money: Black Banks anad the Racial Wealth Gap". Now we are reading "The Vanishing Half".
Oh I too read "The Vanishing Half" a few months ago - great read. Highly recommend it. I'll have to look into "The Black Friend"
Great reading recommendations, Patti Hommes‍, thank you! There's also a video presentation on The Color of Money that I found when looking up the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj6s2OL6Mp4
Patti Hommes‍ I just viewed the REACH page and this is amazing work you're doing! Racial equity spans across so many cultures and there is REAL work to be done. So happy to see this movement happening in real time. By the way, I read "The Vanishing Half" about two months ago and it's a GREAT book! I couldn't put it down! So many interesting personal dilemmas going on with each character...I'd love to hear your group's feedback when you guys are done reading. I'm currently reading "The Black Friend" by Fredrick Joseph. So far, it's definitely an interesting read.
David Lee David Lee Feb '21
It's great to know that Blackbaud embrace a corporate culture which values diversity.  Kudos to the team.
Thanks David Lee‍. we're hard at work making sure we keep diversity and inclusion at the forefront of our corporate culture. 
I am participating in as many events as my company is providing.  I have already learned about the green book. https://www.history.com/news/the-green-book-the-black-travelers-guide-to-jim-crow-america
There is a movie based on the Green Book. 
Thanks for sharing Elizabeth! I am taking a fun approach and introducing my children to several of the movies and shows, I grew up on that featured black cast members. Family Matters with Steve Urkel and The Fresh Prince of Belair with Will Smith have been two of their favorites!  

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