What These Companies Are Doing to Celebrate Juneteenth 2021
In honor of Juneteenth, we reached out to our partner companies to see how they're honoring Freedom Day. Here's what they said:
Committing to Ongoing Learning– Chainalysis
"Chainalysis has chosen to provide a day off on Friday, June 18 for its employees to free themselves of work activities in order to prioritize reflecting in any way, shape or form they choose to. By providing a company-wide day off, Chainalysis is ensuring that its employees have the bandwidth to commit to ongoing learning and expanding upon the company's DEI initiatives, as that contributes to -a better workplace, and society, for all."
They've also planned the following initiatives for their employees:
- "Hosting a panel discussion, with internal and external guests, around the importance of diversity, Juneteenth and what we can do to help tackle structural inequality, particularly in the fintech/ blockchain/ cryptocurrency space.
- Curating and creating an educational video and newsletter around the significance of Juneteenth.
- Promoting give-back resources and opportunities to Black-owned or focused organizations and foundations that tackle social justice issues.
- Competition to commemorate Juneteenth - whether dish or design - with winners to choose an organization of choice for Chainalysis to contribute to."
A Virtual Artistic Experience and More– LogMeIn
"This year, LogMeIn's Black ERG (BE@LogMeIn) is offering several opportunities to celebrate Juneteenth. First we will come together to view a virtual artistic experience in which three LGBTQIA+ artists of color will share original poems, monologues, and stories. Then we will host a "Storytime" in partnership with our Families ERG for an interactive reading of Juneteenth for Mazie, a captivating story about the history of slavery and why we celebrate Juneteenth as told from parent to child. Finally, we will host an engaging tour of the Black Heritage Trail, a 1.6 mile walk in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood."
Learn more about LogMeIn here.
Supporting Black Businesses– Ciena
"At Ciena our Black & African Heritage (B&AH) ERG is encouraging employees to participate in a day of service on Friday 18th using their Volunteering Time Off to engage in their respective cities to serve Black and African heritage communities. B&AH has also created a page on Go/Ciena, Ciena's intranet, to share curated content to commemorate the day either by supporting Black businesses, attending virtual Juneteenth events, and educating themselves and others."
Learn more about Ciena here.
Focusing on Reflection– Vouch
"Vouch celebrates Juneteenth by closing for observation on June 18. We encourage our employees to take the day to focus on reflection."
Learn more about Vouch here.
Elevating Black Voices– Collins Aerospace
"In a first-of-its-kind industry collaboration event at the ERG level, the Collins Aerospace African American Enterprise Board (AAEB) and the Boeing Black Employee Association (BBEA) will join forces in an event dedicated to elevating Black voices across our companies. We hope this will be the first of many such industry-wide conversations between our ERGs as we strive for aerospace to be the most inclusive space. In addition, several site-specific events will commemorate and honor the history of Juneteenth and why it is critical for all to remember the day."
Learn more about Collins Aerospace here.
Dream In Color Film Review– NBA
"Dream In Color will host a panel discussion with the forces behind "A Most Beautiful Thing," a documentary film chronicling the history of the first U.S. African American public high school rowing team. As the NBA office is closed in celebration on the holiday on Friday, on June 18th executive producer and NBA legend Grant Hill, director Mary Mazzio and Arshay Cooper, a rower and protagonist of the film, will discuss Arshay's story. This discussion will moderated by NBA TV host, Stephanie Ready."
Learn more about the NBA here.
Reflecting on Our Past, Creating Change for Our Future– Freddie Mac
"At Freddie Mac, we're building on our continued commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by recognizing Juneteenth as an official company holiday and day of service. The significance of the day will be commemorated with a series of learnings and opportunities throughout the month to engage inclusively while giving back to our local communities, including:
"Day of Understanding" keynote address featuring a professor of African American Studies.
"Building Community within Our Communities" series of virtual community outreach initiatives supporting select non-profits across the U.S"
Learn more about Freddie Mac here.
Speaking to Equality– Netskope
"Netskope observes Juneteenth as an official company holiday in the United States. We have expanded our events that celebrate and observe dates and moments that speak to equality and against racism - Juneteenth being one of many."
Learn more about Netskope here.
Spreading Awareness Across the Nation– Uber
"The United States and Canada will continue to observe Juneteenth and Black at Uber is releasing company-wide communications surrounding the day, its meaning, and celebratory events and activities going on in cities across the United States and Canada that people can support and attend."
Learn more about Uber here.
Lunch and Learn Celebration– AAA
"AAA EXCEL Business Resource Group (BRG): EXCEL will be hosting a "Lunch & Learn" Event to celebrate and discuss Juneteenth. This Freedom Day Event will feature a Meet-and-Greet with the EXCEL Leadership Team, a panel discussion with Executive Leaders, and a fun ending filled with prizes."
Learn more about AAA here.
Virtual Fashion Show– Audible
"Audible's Impact Groups encourage an environment where you can be you. This Juneteenth Audible's Black Employee Network will be celebrating The Style of Freedom and The Freedom of Style! Audible Employees will share pictures in a virtual fashion show inspired by this prompt:
Imagine this: it's Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. A huge celebration is kicking off. And we're there. What would you wear? It could be historical, cultural, or contemporary."
Learn more about Audible here.
Deepening Awareness and Making Positive Change– S&P Global
"At S&P Global, we commemorate Juneteenth while recognizing that we still have a long way to go to create an equitable society. This year we marked Juneteenth with a formal U.S. company holiday, and provided our people with resources to deepen their awareness of what this day stands for while continuing to make positive change. We will engage our people through educational event programming, brave spaces for open conversations, and our community partnerships. Some planned events include "Making Freedom Pay: What we can learn from the U.S. Reconstruction Era" and "Beyond ESG: Economic Impact of Inequality on Black Women."
Learn more about S&P Global here.
Conversations About Black Investing– Moody’s
"In honor of Juneteenth, we will host several conversations that focus on the Black community and financial services. Our CEO, Rob Fauber and Michael T. Pugh, CEO of Carver Federal Savings Bank, will come together for a live conversation on the state of Black owned banks, "Banking Black," and much more. In addition, DK Bartley, Moody's Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion officer, and Mellody Hobson, President and co-CEO of Ariel Investments and the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation, will host a session on the importance of Black investing. We will also issue a newsletter that commemorates and educates employees about the significance of Juneteenth."
Learn more about Moody's here.
Driving Equity and Inclusion– Nestlé USA
"We announced last year that Juneteenth, sometimes called Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, would be added as a corporate holiday in the US. Cultural conversations about equality and racial equity brought into focus the importance of this day and we believed it was important to commemorate it as a company. So, our corporate offices will be closed on Friday, June 18th, to allow employees time to reflect on the history of Juneteenth, the meaning of the day and consider their role in driving equity and inclusion at Nestlé and in our communities."
Learn more about Nestlé USA here.
Appreciate the Difference and Be Curious– VTS
"VTS offices will be closed for observance for Juneteenth. We encourage all employees to take the time to live our values of Appreciating the Difference and Be Curious and actively engage in the holiday. While we may have the day off, it is actually a "day on" as the holiday is a crucial day for allyship. We will be sharing some resources to all employees to learn more on how to celebrate and take action."
Learn more about VTS here.
Brave Space Sessions– Okta
Okta is Celebrating Juneteenth through the following initiatives:
- "Celebrating Juneteenth" presentation at company all-hands: The presentation featured historical context on the holiday as well as suggestions for employees to get involved."
- "DIB Lunch and Learn: Fireside Chat with Jodi-Ann Burey: Jodi-Ann will discuss heritage months, how companies can better support employees from marginalized communities, allyship, and intersectionality."
- "Brave Space Session: We will create space for authentic conversations about violence in POC communities and how to channel this energy into something that can build a stronger community within our organization."
- "Ailey Film Screening: For two days at the end of the month we will have the new Ailey film available for viewing."
- "Juneteenth video featuring Black employees from Okta."
- "Newsletter that highlights a few Black employees at Okta and their experiences with Juneteenth during childhood."
Storytelling, Reflection, Empathy, and Action– Seatgeek
"This Juneteenth, we are focusing our programming on four elements - storytelling, reflection, empathy, and action - expanding last year's Day of Service to several days of impactful virtual events.
SeatGeek has also committed to donating $10,000 on behalf of our employees, giving individuals an opportunity to contribute to the fund as well."
Learn more about SeatGeek here.
Celebrating the Legacy of Juneteenth– VideoAmp
"Saturday, June 19 is the 156th anniversary of Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day. Out of respect for and to honor this important day for all African Americans across the country, VideoAmp will observe Friday, June 18 as a company holiday. All offices will be closed, and we encourage Vampers to participate in cultural activities or give-back events to show allyship and support for Black citizens in the communities where we live and work."
Learn more about VideoAmp here.
Honor, Recognize, and Reflect– MongoDB
"MongoDB recognizes Juneteenth as a paid day off for U.S. employees. This year, MongoDB employees located in the U.S. will take the day off on Friday, June 18th to honor, recognize, and reflect on Juneteenth."
Learn more about MongoDB here.
Sharing Thoughts, Experiences, and Resources– BlackRock
"We have several opportunities for employees to reflect on the ongoing struggle for racial equity and observe Juneteenth. For instance, our Black Professionals Network (BPN) in our Delaware Office is partnering with the Global Head of Talent Acquisition, leaders & managers of the Delaware campus to share their thoughts, experiences, and provide resources for hiring diverse talent in honor of Juneteenth. This panel will discuss obstacles regarding the hiring of diverse talent, will touch upon the firm's commitment and current progress, and will also explore how our Black Professionals Network can support with such hires."
Learn more about BlackRock here.
Social Justice Day– Healthfirst
"On June 17, Healthfirst's weekly employee Race & Justice Forum becomes a celebration of Juneteenth, featuring a special presentation of employees from around the company sharing what Juneteenth means to them—it's history, traditions, and future. Members of the Black History Month committee will meet with Healthfirst summer interns for a small group discussion about Juneteenth as well. That Friday the company's intranet page will feature a tribute to Juneteenth, with a primer on its history and information about the company's Social Justice Day, a paid day off to engage in activities or service that positively impacts the community."
Learn more about Healthfirst here.
Showcasing Black Excellence– Relativity
Black Excellence Showcase posters
"Relativity's community resource group, BRel (Black at Relativity) is virtually highlighting black owned businesses via black excellence showcases throughout the week. Our showcases celebrate Black Excellence while educating our Relativity community with bios, fun facts, videos, articles, and custom art celebrating the amazing work of black individuals. Additionally, we'll be encouraging our Relativians to support black businesses via a list of recommendations.
Relativity is also partnering with the Innov-8 leadership team on June 17 to host a webinar highlighting challenges black employees face and how individuals and organizations can work to negate these challenges."
Lamar Jordan – Infrastructure Engineer II & Co-Chair of BRel (Black at Relativity)
Learn more about Relativity here.
Education, Advocacy, Demonstration, and Donation– PagerDuty
"One year ago we introduced our Day for Change initiative on Juneteenth. We recognize Juneteenth as a global holiday and encourage employees to use the time to advocate for equity and critical reform for the Black community. Furthermore, we have grown this annual initiative into a comprehensive quarterly offering. Days for Change involves a strategic delivery of programming, content, philanthropic efforts, and a menu of action items, enabling company-wide activation with four key pillars to create change; Education, Advocacy, Demonstration, and Donation."
Learn more about PagerDuty here.
Inform, Encourage, Reflect, and Engage– ServiceNow
"ServiceNow celebrates Juneteenth this year with a series of employee experiences designed to increase awareness, inform, encourage reflection, and engage.
- A video featuring Black employees sharing what Juneteenth means to them and their Juneteenth family traditions
- Employees globally sharing the music, literature, figure or moment that influenced their understanding of the Black experience
- Dialogue on ServiceNow's $100M investment in Racial Equity fund
- Launch of Black at Now Belonging Group newsletter
- Intersectional opportunity to celebrate LGBTQIA+ artists of color"
Rest and Reflect– GameChanger
"GameChanger observes Juneteenth and honors its historical importance by offering all teammates a paid company holiday. We also are providing teammates with resources to enable them to take the time off to rest and reflect, learn, and/or advocate. Finally, we're hosting a teammate dialogue circle the day before the holiday to provide teammates the chance to learn and discuss why the day is not just an important day in Black History but for American History."
Learn more about GameChanger here.
Sparking Empathy and Acceptance– Elastic
"In order to commemorate Juneteenth, Elastic will be observing this event as a holiday on Friday, June 18th."
"If you're looking for a documentary, start with 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay. It can be challenging to spend a lot of time on the subject of racism — it's very heavy. Ava knows how to get to the core of the metamorphosis of racism. This documentary highlights how slavery evolved from convict leasing to disproportionate mass incarceration and other factors like keeping people locked into the system with GPS monitoring, house arrest, etc. This documentary demonstrates what modern slavery looks like. 13th helps spark empathy and acceptance of black peoples' stories instead of nullifying them."
Destiny H, Prin Web Producer
Learn more about Elastic here.
Amplifying Employee's Voices– Procore
"Procore is observing Juneteenth (or Freedom Day) on Friday, June 18 as a global holiday for all employees. Through Modern Health, our mental wellness program, employees also have the opportunity to attend a webinar to reflect on what Juneteenth is and what it means in corporate America. We are also celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Daring Conversations and Allyship speaker series, which focuses on listening, learning, and amplifying our employee's voices. You can learn more about our ongoing efforts to build a more diverse and inclusive future here."
Learn more about Procore here.
Juneteenth Day of Learning– Facebook
"On Friday, June 18, Facebook is excited to host our company-wide Juneteenth day of learning in recognition of the legacy, excellence, and resilience that drives the immense contributions of the Black community to the world.
Employees can participate in a full day's slate of insightful discussions with notable activists and public figures, including Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Tina Knowles-Lawson, June's Diary and more, who will share perspectives on the history and significance of Juneteenth.
Or employees can take the day off to celebrate in ways that are meaningful to them with a personal Facebook Choice Day.
Externally, our family of apps will tell the story of how Black people use our platforms every day to reimagine freedom through community, personal expression, love, joy, celebration and action."
Learn more about Facebook here.
Trio of new programs takes NBA’s diversity and inclusion efforts to greater heights
In 2020, the NBA received a grade of A+ when it came to race, a grade of B for gender and an overall grade of A-. Although the marks were good by any industry standard, the NBA, who regularly tracks this data independent of TIDES to ensure diversity across the league and create more inclusive programs and processes, wasn't satisfied. Instead, the league recognized that there is still more work to be done and launched a trio of new efforts – the Future Sales Stars Program, the Executive Highlighting Initiative and the NBA Mentorship Program – to continue to prioritize recruiting, developing and retaining diverse talent.
"Collectively, these programs are part of an ongoing, comprehensive process to increase the diversity of our talent across our entire league," said Oris Stuart, Executive Vice President, Chief People & Inclusion Officer at the NBA.
When it comes to having a diverse work force not only in the league office but across the league's 30 teams, Stuart says it's not only an advantage, but a necessity, and essential to the NBA's overall success.
"We are in a business and a game, that No. 1 requires understanding our fans. That means as an organization, we have to have people in the organization that represent the diversity and complexity of those fans so that we can understand and build relationships with them," he said. "No. 2, we work for a league in a business that requires innovation; we're in our 75th year, and one of the reasons that we've not only survived but succeeded and thrived is because we're constantly looking at opportunities to grow the game, looking at opportunities to do things differently, challenging ourselves, and striving to reinvent ourselves on a regular basis.
"What are the ingredients for innovation: diversity and inclusion – different experiences, different backgrounds, different ways of thinking, different ways of solving problems. Because we're in a complex business, it's essential for us to have diversity and it's essential for that diverse talent to be positioned where their ideas are included."
That overarching philosophy led the league to launch these three programs to find new candidates at the entry level (Future Sales Stars Program), nurture existing employees and provide opportunities for growth (NBA Mentorship Program) and seek out qualified candidates for opportunities at the executive level (Executive Highlighting Initiative).
In case those goals weren't lofty enough, the NBA decided not to wait, and launch these programs even though it was in the middle of a global pandemic that essentially shut down the traditional business of basketball and halted hiring nearly across the board for months.
While there was much uncertainty regarding when and how fans would return to arenas, teams were going to need talented sales representatives, marketers and leaders to get them back in the building and be innovative in reimagining the future of the game.
FUTURE STARS SALES PROGRAM
While the games paused this past year, the recruitment efforts did not. The first-ever Future Sales Stars Program tipped off in October 2020 and welcomed 50 participants who are early in their careers in corporate partnerships and ticket sales, with a goal of providing real-world sales training and a fundamental understanding of how the NBA generates revenue.
The six-month virtual program gave the participants access to mentorship, networking, and development opportunities, as well as real-world insights. It also connected the participants with current leaders in these fields with representatives from over 20 NBA teams serving as guest speakers and trainers.
Sergio Martinez, the Director of Talent Acquisition with the Golden State Warriors, was one of the first team representatives to get involved with the program as he embraced the vision of the program and what it was trying to accomplish.
"I was very interested in the program because it was a new idea, a new program, something I hadn't seen before, and the purpose where it's targeting women and people of color not only within the context of a historically white male dominated industry, but also within revenue generating roles," Martinez said. "I think that's a challenge for every team in that we definitely have limited people of color in those roles, so why not just address that challenge head on and say that this program is for you."
Martinez led multiple training sessions with the candidates and shared his experiences in talent acquisition, giving them tips on what could make them stand out from others, but also what common mistakes to avoid during the job-seeking process.
"I want to share learnings that I've had throughout my career working toward this position, and also talk about the mistakes that I personally have made in my job searches early in my career," he said. "Learn from my mistakes, and also learn from the mistakes that I see people continuously make, who are either entry level or very senior and experienced in their careers."
John Ferguson, Vice President of People & Culture for Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Washington Wizards and Mystics, Capital City Go-Go), was another of the many team leaders eager to participate in the program.
"My passion is working with the young people, because I once was in their seat, I moved to DC with no job, first generation to attend college, so I didn't have that sort of base of life, someone saying these are your next steps," he said. "So anything that I've learned, if I can give it away for free to make their time and their path easier, I definitely want to do it."
Ferguson said the fact that the program was virtual made it easier for him to participate and give of his time. He envisioned that in a pre-pandemic world the participants would have likely convened in New York for a week-long training and the number of team executives in a position to be away for that long in order to participate would be limited.
"To me it's the silver lining of the pandemic because it allowed us to see that physical distance and location does not have to determine our ability to connect, teach, engage and share information," he said. "Now we can do it virtually. I can get online from home at 8 p.m. to talk to the students and we can go through these recruiting best practices and steps and give them all the information that we want to share."
An example of the Futures Sales Stars Program spotlight shared with teams to promote the participants in the program.
Paul Bee, Vice President of Ticket Sales with the Milwaukee Bucks, was impressed by the level of engagement that he saw from the participants despite that training was being done virtually and there was much still unknown due to the pandemic.
"It was just making sure they understood, there's going to be a point, whether it's next month, whether it's four months, six months down the road, that we should be getting back to where the new normal is going to be, and the whole preparation of the course was to make sure they were ready and prepared," he said. "I told them kudos to you for still preparing yourself, because how many people kind of pause because the rest of the world did, but you were still plowing forward, you were still trying to make yourself better, make yourself more marketable."
The students took that message to heart and when restrictions began to be lifted and fans were once again allowed into arenas on a limited capacity, Bee was able to hire four participants from the Future Stars Sales Program to join his team in Milwaukee. And the Bucks aren't the only team that has been hiring; at the time of publication, 18 participants from the initial Future Sales Stars Program class have been hired by NBA teams.
With the success of the inaugural Future Stars Sales Program, the NBA is already looking to expand this future stars concept to other pillars of the business of basketball – such as analytics, basketball operations and more – in the coming months.
NBA MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
While the Future Stars Sales Program focuses on finding entry-level talent, the NBA Mentorship Program was established in late August 2020 as a way to develop diverse talent by connecting young professionals with mentors across the league to offer advice and share experiences.
Mentees were nominated to participate by senior leadership from each of the NBA's 30 teams and were then matched with the right mentor. Over 175 leaders across the league volunteered to serve as mentors, including Ticketing, Partnership, Marketing and Business Operations executives as well as all 30 NBA Team Presidents.
Once the mentor/mentee connections were made, there would be three conversations between them over the course of four months to share knowledge and help the mentee grow in their career.
One of those connections was between Leah Emmons (Vice President, Partnership Engagement, Detroit Pistons) and Gillian Zucker (President of Business Operations, LA Clippers), and both found the experience incredibly valuable and rewarding.
"I wouldn't be where I am today, if it weren't for other people guiding my career and sharing their experience and knowledge with me in a really honest way," said Zucker about her desire to serve as a mentor in this program. "That helped me see the things that I needed to do, to improve in order to continue to advance my career. And I feel like if I'm in a position to offer that to someone else, I want to do it."
Zucker took a circuitous path to the NBA. After applying to the NBA while she was in college and not being accepted, Zucker began a 25-year career in professional sports before joining the LA Clippers in 2014, with experience in Minor League Baseball and NASCAR.
"I feel like a good mentor/mentee relationship has a level of honesty and trust that you can't find anywhere else," Zucker said. "It's someone who really has no other ulterior motive other than helping the mentee to become better. And if that's the case, and you're really open to hearing honest feedback about things that you can do differently or areas where you can continue to improve or advance or reposition yourself, there's an enormous opportunity for you to advance your career in remarkable ways."
Emmons fit in a professional tier where she qualified to both serve as a mentor to younger talent, but also as a mentee and jumped at the opportunity to be paired with one of the five female Presidents in the NBA in Zucker.
"I'm lucky to have a few mentors in my life, both male and female, but somebody like Gillian, who sort of has been on the same path and be able to learn and hear about her experiences, has been such a blessing," said Emmons.
"Being able to see somebody in a career that you want and how they got there, and being able to listen to those experiences helps build that competence within yourself. Gillian is such a great mentor in the sense that she asks a lot of the questions that I think people don't think of, and she's shared some personal stories with me that relate to what I'm going through day to day. A lot of times when those things are happening to me or I'm doubting myself, I can hear her voice in my head. And if something comes up, I know I can lean on her. And that's not something that everybody gets, and I think seeing that and knowing that it's possible is so great for the NBA and for women in the NBA."
In the first conversation between Zucker and Emmons, the first question that Zucker asked was "How honest do you want me to be?" Emmons did not want Zucker to hold back and was ready for her mentor to be brutally honest with her when needed.
"I appreciated that she took that approach, because sometimes when you meet people for the first time, there's a get to know you phase and she sort of led with like, 'Alright, what do you want me to tell you?' And hearing her opinions and then helping me figure out how I was going to grow in those areas is something that I wouldn't have thought of, as I mentor people that has been such a great experience."
EXECUTIVE HIGHLIGHTING INITIATIVE
When the NBA launched these three programs, the goal was to engage and promote candidates at all levels of a career in professional sports – from the entry level, to the mid-tier and eventually to the executive level.
"It's really touching every stage of the talent life cycle," said Stuart, "From those entry level positions, where people are starting their careers all the way up through and including more senior talent that's had experiences elsewhere, and can bring those skills into our business and into our league."
The Executive Highlighting Initiative began in August 2020 when the NBA published the first bi-monthly executive talent newsletter. Each newsletter features around five external executives that have expressed interest in working with the NBA across business disciplines, including revenue, marketing, digital, strategy and analytics, and more.
In addition to highlighting their career accomplishments and skills, the newsletter also contains contact information for each executive and teams are encouraged to engage these executives for possibly employment and networking opportunities. And the calls have happened as approximately two-thirds of the candidates highlighted so far have interviewed either with the league office or with teams since the initiative launched.
In his July 2020 report, Richard Lapchick, the Director of TIDES, stated, "The NBA has found a way to continue to lead the way when it comes to diverse and inclusive hiring amongst men's professional sports leagues."
With the launch of the Future Stars Sales Program, NBA Mentoring Program and Executive Highlighting Initiative, the NBA has expanded on those ways in 2021 and beyond.
"The good news is that there is already evidence, even in a challenging hiring environment, that these programs are delivering value and that teams are identifying talent and they're excited about bringing them into the organization" said Stuart. "So, our expectations were lofty, but they're being exceeded."
