The B Corporation movement includes the efforts of business to uplift diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). DE&I is intended to eliminate inequality and injustice and ‘B The Change’ that we wish to see in the world. In this week’s B Corporation blog we’ll join other B Corporations in recognizing Black August. Black August is unlike Black History Month as the focus is on individuals who paid the price of resistance and on events in which collective resistance events arose due to injustice.
The intention of companies that practice DE&I is to create work environments where there is no allowance of racism and discrimination and there is a concerted effort toward full equality and inclusion. For that reason B Corporations will, this month, recognize Black August, giving honor to the heroes who resisted.
“During Black August, we honor Black freedom fighters, many of whom were killed by the state or imprisoned for defending Black lives.” Monifa Bandele on CNN.
Here is just a brief list of August events: Underground Railroad was started on August 2, 1850; the March on Washington occurred in August of 1963; Gabriel Prosser’s 1800 slave rebellion occurred on August 30; Nat Turner planned and executed a slave rebellion that commenced on August 21, 1831; the Watts rebellions were in August of 1965; and Michael Brown was killed on August 9, 2014, leading to more than 300 days of protests.
At the B Corporation website we find the following message to business leaders:
“The numbers below, highlighted in this week’s articles, relate the story of inequality in the United States:
“The Black imprisonment rate at the end of 2018 was 1,501 prisoners for every 100,000 adults — nearly twice the rate among Hispanics (797 per 100,000) and more than five times the rate among whites (268 per 100,000).
“Nearly 70% of visitors to national parks and forests are white, although Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color account for almost 40% of the U.S. population.
“Seeing and sharing these numbers illustrates systemic issues, but as business leaders it’s crucial to also realize how they affect the everyday lives of workers, customers, and other stakeholders in the U.S. and around the world — and our role in changing this reality. To support and encourage this progress, B Lab U.S. & Canada and its new CEO are prioritizing racial equity as one of three strategies for change.
“It’s time to take actions that recalculate our social and environmental systems — realizing the potential of business as a force for good — so they add up for everyone.”
This week’s articles cover the subject of Black August first in speaking to the history, and secondly in speaking to corporate inclusion today. We hope you enjoy reading these offerings.
What Is Black August?
“According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, Black August is “a time of collective grief, clarity, rage, and rebellion. Mighty waves of popular uprising against the ravages of white supremacy and anti-Black racism are flooding the streets, rising within and outside of prison walls, and reverberating through communities and institutions.” Beginning in the 1970s to commemorate the death of imprisoned Black Panther George Jackson, August is a time in which these political prisoners and other freedom fighters of the Black freedom struggle are honored.”
Read the full article HERE
Transforming the Outdoors for True Inclusion
How Outdoor Brands Can Design for Diversity and the Future of Our Planet
“Spending the majority of her childhood outside hiking, climbing, or skiing, outdoor diversity activist Teresa Baker found a natural connection with nature and being active. But it wasn’t until she took a trip to Yosemite National Park in 2016 as an adult that she looked around and noticed that no one on the hiking trails looked like her.
“When I got home, I reached out to the National Park Service. And I said ‘Hey, this was my experience. I think you guys have a diversity problem.’ And they said, ‘We know, help us fix it.’ And that began this journey of diversity and inclusion in the outdoors,” says Baker.”
Read the full article HERE