Podcasts Business Leading With Empathy & Allyship 32: What Allies Can Do During Black History Month

32: What Allies Can Do During Black History Month

Published: Feb. 9, 2021, 5 a.m.

Join Change Catalyst Founder & CEO Melinda Briana Epler in a meaningful conversation on "What Allies Can Do During Black History Month" with Rachel Williams, Head of Equity, Inclusion & Diversity at X, the moonshot factory; Lionel Lee, Head of Diversity Engagement at Zillow Group; and Almaz Negash, Founder & Executive Director at the African Diaspora Network.

In this episode, these guests shine a light on:

  • What Black History Month means and what they look for from allies 
  • How Black History Month does and should extend far beyond February
  • How Black history should be part of American history in school
  • Why a reflection on policies and KPIs within communities and workplaces is important

Our Leading With Empathy & Allyship host Melinda Briana Epler is a TED speaker and Founder & CEO of Change Catalyst. Melinda works with leaders to build empathy and inclusive leadership skills, and develop diverse, equitable, and inclusive companies.

Some of our favorite quotes from our guests this week:

“People talk about us without us. We need to be at the table. When people talk about our future, we must be at the table.… Where are they talking about the continent, when I am from the continent, and I’m not even at the table?” – Almaz Negash, Founder & Executive Director at The African Diaspora Network

“When I am talking about reflection, I'm talking about reflecting on yourself and your experience, and how you've interacted with the Black community.” – Lionel Lee, Head of Diversity Engagement at Zillow Group

“I would do away with the current set of history books we have all been learning and actually incorporate Black history as a part of American history because it is. To me, that acknowledgment would go a long way in actually helping with some of our equity, inclusion and diversity strategy, or the things and ills we are seeing inside the company and out in the world. Because you would have grown up knowing we are in fact builders and the foundation of this country. We are not separate. It is not a separate month or a separate education.” – Rachel Williams, Head of Equity, Inclusion & Diversity at X, the moonshot factory 

The live show is made accessible thanks to ASL interpretation by in-kind sponsor Interpreter-Now and live captioning by White Coat Captioning. 

This episode is sponsored by AppDynamics, builders of the world’s only full-stack Business Observability platform. Join their team to help businesses thrive by turning performance into profit. More at www.appdynamics.com/company/careers

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