Black History Month, A Year Later
In 2025, I asked, “How Will You Celebrate Black History Month?” We were one month into the new administration, Federal DEI initiatives were being decimated, and public institutions were following suit, eliminating their DEI programs in order to curry favor and perhaps escape the wrath of the new administration.
As we start February 2026, many citizens are baffled by the tragic murders of American citizens Keith Porter Jr, Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti. Many people are shocked and are questioning how these killings happened and what happens next. While your company’s DEI program would not and could not answer these specific questions, the history of underrepresented populations in the United States could provide a view into how actions like these have been burdened by and challenged by these communities.
Whether you have dismantled your DEI initiatives in the past year or if they are still in existence, you have a new opportunity to strengthen your efforts during Black History Month 2026. In the United States the period from 1882 to 1901 was the height of lynchings, with an average of more than 150 each year. Lynchings are extrajudicial killings – the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. Learn how these communities addressed these lynchings. What did they do internally? How did they respond externally? And if you don’t believe topics like this should be discussed in the workplace, you’ve knit pink hats, you’ve worn safety pins, you’ve donned blue bracelets and the killings haven’t stopped. Perhaps it’s time to try different tactics.
I wish you a Happy Black History Month in which you can reflect on the contributions of Black people to the United States despite the systems and practices that have been erected to murder their success.
For more information on ways in which I can motivate your team, follow along on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. For more information on board governance and strategic facilitation, follow along on LinkedIn or Instagram. Nikki McCord is the founder of McCord Consulting Group & McCord Speaks, the only choice for organizations looking to energize, innovate, and pursue new paths beyond the status quo.