Black History Month - what now?
28 Feb 2023
As February comes to an end, so does Ricardo’s ‘official’ recognition of Black History Month. But, if what we’ve learnt over the past four weeks is anything to go by, it’s certainly clear that celebrating our differences and creating and developing meaningful conversations should be a constant and the precursor to change, not something that we only do as a snapshot once a year.
It’s been great to see the level of support and engagement for our activities both internally and externally, but more important is the ‘what now’? – how do we build on the momentum of our actions across the entire business to support a more diverse, equitable and inclusive working environment for all? How do we bring together people across the wider Ricardo business, to engage in conversations, share experiences, activities and potential solutions to challenge areas where we’re not doing enough.
We’re already moving in the right direction, but are we accelerating fast enough, and how can we create more collaboration among our teams and explore opportunities within our exciting Forum to drive momentum?
I was asked earlier this month about my inspiration and why I thought it was important to recognise Black History Month. I answered the latter in my opening gambit to launch Ricardo’s Black History Month celebrations.
There are so many who have inspired me over the years: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr., Dr. Ronald E. McNair, Mei Jaimeson, Mary Jackson, Reginald Lewis, Robert Smith and even Shawn Carter.
Thank you to everyone who liked, shared and commented in support of Black History Month. We will not be measured by what we did during the last four weeks, but by the actions that we take following.