Footnotes
You should cancel your org's MLK event
if publicity is the only reason they're having one. If this is an item on their color-coded calendar, just cancel it. If they need some "diversity" photos for the website or a paragraph in the annual report, walk away now. And similarly, if you are working on your company's Black History Month program, I need you to stop.
I know that you care deeply about MLK's legacy. I know you understand the value of Black History Month. I know you feel it's your duty to capitalize on the org's willingness to have an event related to Blackness—especially right now. After all, hope is a duty. But in this case, I implore you to use that hope to ask some very important questions before you start working on a program.
Because I also know that your organization is eager to use your free labor for a vapid event, it will take all the credit for and none of the headache.
If you don't ask questions, you might be in danger of putting together an event that doesn't even inspire you—an event that is void of inspiration and will not transform a single person. You will be in the thick of planning, navigating office politics as the administrators offer a million caveats but not a single (good) idea.
You are capable, educated, and passionate about this, but you will not be able to succeed. Why? Because the conditions for your success are unclear when the company's motivation is merely adding the event to their annual report.
So before you say, "yes," ask these questions of the leadership team:
- What values of MLK Day or Black History Month are we trying to uplift?
- Which of these values do you believe the company has worked hard to enact?
- What is the purpose of the event? (To educate white people? To create community for Black people? To engage with the community... and which community? To introduce a new company value or a new emphasis on an existing value?)
- How will we know if we have succeeded?
- Is there a budget for the event/program?
- Will I be compensated?
- Are there caveats, and why do these caveats exist?
That last question is so very important. Before you say yes to creating a month of programs, you need to know what the leadership does NOT want. Often, this is more informative than all the savvy answers they are sure to give you to the first set of questions.
Are you not allowed to mention that MLK was not impressed with white moderates? Are there certain books you cannot recommend? Are there certain documentaries you cannot show? Are there certain voices you cannot bring into discussions? Are there certain phrases you are not allowed to say or write?
And finally, you must be honest and determine—do any of these caveats stand in opposition to the stated goals?
If they do not mesh, you are likely to find yourself deeply frustrated, creating an event you do not believe in, even though you are the face of it.
And you don't have time for that nonsense.
The world is falling apart. And your efforts and energies are needed. Somewhere, someone is planning an event that excites you. Somewhere, an organizer is waiting for your skills and gifts to continue the transformative work they've been doing for years. Somewhere, your people are holed up, working on something that makes your heart beat faster. Somewhere, you can continue the work of MLK and stand in the legacy of Black history.
If that feels possible under your company's leadership—great!
But if not... cancel the event, Beloved.
[ You can download the Leadership Team Questionnaire.png here]
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