BLACK HISTORY MONTH: WHERE OUR PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE COLLIDE

While we are still recovering from the last 13 months of what one can only describe as an IRL Black Mirror episode, this February feels a bit different. 

To say that we are experiencing growing pains is an understatement. I think what we can all agree on is that our country is going through a social and cultural metamorphosis; a deep unraveling of our concept of America that is simultaneously painful and hopeful. So while we are not only navigating a novel virus that has devastated our economy, social norms and way of life, we’re also still processing the election of our first female, first African American and Asian American woman as the Vice President of the United States. 

So yes, this Black History Month “hits different” for many reasons. Mostly because we have come so far, and yet we still have so much to learn about each other and the details of our collective history. And that can start with me. 

Let me formally introduce myself as one of the newest members of the Black Sheep flock. I am the new Chief of Staff and Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at The Black Sheep Agency. It’s a position that is not only new to the agency, but also relatively unheard of in the advertising and social impact marketing category.

There is no direct blueprint for this role. What myself, my CEO and the leadership team are attempting to accomplish is something that I’ve always wanted to do early in my career, which is to center the experience of our agency around the employees and their talents first, then match our business efforts around that second. As an agency, one of our main values is to center impact—starting with our employees—and consistently deliver our best thinking and creative work for companies who want to make a positive impact for their communities and the world. This value alone has been one of the main reasons I accepted a full-time position with Black Sheep after a long stretch of independent work. I knew that I would be doing good work with good people.

So what does Chief of Staff and Head of EDI entail?

I provide strategic counsel on how we run our business with greater emphasis on equity and inclusion, both internally and externally. In addition to being a business partner for Aimee and the leadership team, I am really excited about spearheading a few initiatives including: our comprehensive personal and professional development training for our employees; streamlining our processes for new business development and growing our freelance creative community; as well establishing our philosophy, practices and programs that amplify our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion within the workplace.

As you can see, this role is novel and one that will challenge my agility, empathy and endurance. But the great news is that I feel really inspired by people in the social impact space who have blazed new trails when no one was looking. 

Which brings us back to today and the month of February. 

And much like our Black History heroes of the past and present, creating a new path out of a deep desire for change is an honorable endeavor that we feel should be both uplifted and celebrated.

Our focus for Black History Month is to share more than just firsts and facts; our goal is to spark conversation about how the impact of those “firsts'' shifted and changed the social fabric of our communities and society. If we’ve learned anything from the past year, it’s that history can be a powerful tool if we allow it to reframe and shape our understanding of the present and our possibilities for the future.

So I invite you to join us for the next month (and beyond) as we continue the work of activating people around conversations and topics that matter. And to help myself and others unpack some of the information we’ll all read, I’d invite you to use these questions to deepen your understanding of the stories we share. Please use them as a point of reflection that may spark conversations with your friends and family.

• When we’re presented with new Black History information, how can we use it to reorient how we show up in the spaces we inhabit?
• How does knowing what these everyday heroes had to overcome, to create what we now see as “standard” and decent, expand our capacity for compassion?
• How can we use our knowledge of the past as a springboard to reimagine how we would like to live in the present and future?

Wishing you all a wonderful Black History month now and for the rest of the year, 

Jennifer