Black History Month Feels Different This Year — And So Should Your Leadership

This year, Black History Month feels different. The usual celebratory tone is more subdued. Some employees are paying attention to whether your company will acknowledge it at all. Others feel hesitant, shaped by past statements that didn’t lead to meaningful change.

At the same time, current events continue to affect communities in personal ways. Within your organization, some employees are carrying those realities with them as they move through their regular workdays and responsibilities.

That context matters — not just socially, but for your workforce. The question is whether your organization is prepared to recognize it.

What you’re not seeing

Most leaders think they’d know if employees were struggling. They wouldn’t.

The people carrying the heaviest weight are often the ones least likely to speak up. They’re balancing Q1 deliverables with questions that never make it to a staff meeting: Does anyone see what’s happening? Will anyone acknowledge it? If I speak up, what does it cost me?

I’ve wrestled with these questions myself. Being the only person in a room who looks like the people in the headlines teaches you to deal with things silently. You perform, contribute, and stay locked in—but inside, you’re slowly tearing apart. It’s an enormous emotional burden.

And the cost isn’t only personal. When people spend energy deciding what not to say, you don’t just lose candor—you lose imagination. The first signs aren’t always attrition. Often, they’re smaller ideas, safer answers, and fewer hands raised. By the time you notice, they’ve already checked out. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Step 1: Put yourself in your employees’ shoes

Ask yourself these questions from your employees’ perspective:

• Would I need support right now?
• Would I feel like I was receiving it?
• Would I be happy to be here?
• Would I be distracted?

If the answer to any is “yes,” you have work to do—and much of it won’t happen publicly.

Step 2: Establish belonging at work

The mistake leaders often make is treating identity as a policy problem rather than a human one.

From the top, identity tension looks like a training or compliance issue. From the inside, it’s simpler: employees are asking:

• Do I belong here?
• Does my perspective actually matter?
• Is anyone noticing what I’m carrying?

These aren’t political questions — they’re human ones.

I learned this principle working with Rev. Jesse Jackson. His call-and-response, “I am somebody,” seemed almost too simple at first. But it anchored people in their own worth before moving toward a shared goal. Leaders can do the same. Establishing belonging is the first step to enabling contribution.

Step 3: A simple roadmap

Executives navigating this well aren’t the ones making the boldest statements—they’re the ones who’ve built credibility through consistent, often unglamorous behavior. Their employees extend the benefit of the doubt because trust is established.

Here’s how it looks in practice:

1. Acknowledge what’s happening. You don’t need to take a stance on federal policy to say, “I know this moment is weighing on some of you. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.” That sentence costs nothing — and signals everything.

2. Create space for honesty. Silence isn’t neutral — it’s feedback. One leader I work with calls it “embracing the reds”: treating difficult conversations with the same openness as wins. If you only welcome perspectives you already agree with, you’re building an echo chamber.

3. Separate respect from outcome. Reward the act of speaking up, not just the ideas that get implemented. Employees need to know their voices are heard, not just acted on.

4. Let proximity guide your response. Relevance matters. If your workforce is concentrated somewhere experiencing hardship, that shapes how you show up.

Step 4: Choose humanity over corporate talk

There are simple, human ways to show your employees they belong — no policy required.

• Rotate who gets airtime. Invite quieter voices or those less aligned with your perspective. Asking, “Who sees this differently?” signals inclusion.
• Normalize hard conversations through consistency. Tone matters more than structure. Discuss successes and challenges with the same openness so surfacing concerns becomes routine.
• Invest in intentional relationships. One-on-ones that focus on employee experience—not just tasks—surface issues early. Asking, “What’s working here, what’s not?” sets the stage for honest feedback.

Making the effort

Companies that handle identity tension well don’t just avoid crises—they make better decisions. More truth in the room leads to better insights, stronger strategy, and higher engagement.

Your minority employees are watching. Not for statements. Not for grand gestures. They’re watching to see whether you make the effort. That effort matters far more than you think.

This year, Black History Month feels different. The usual celebratory tone is more subdued. Some employees are paying attention to whether your company will acknowledge it at all. Others feel hesitant, shaped by past statements that didn’t lead to meaningful change.

At the same time, current events continue to affect communities in personal ways. Within your organization, some employees are carrying those realities with them as they move through their regular workdays and responsibilities.