Cultivator Profile: How One Changemaker Facilitated a Powerful Celebration of Black History
Meet Darriell
What did your company do for Black History Month? Can you remember? Did those internal initiatives have an impact on you? On your team? While awareness months like Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Pride, and Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month are meant to celebrate communities of folks that are often underrepresented (and certainly undercelebrated) within the corporate sphere, too often organizations let these opportunities pass by without meaningful action. Without meaningful action, organizations miss the chance to celebrate employees of a particular identity and to engage others in building a more equitable workplace.
At Acquire, a digital CX platform company, allyship is an action word and a core part of how they operate. When Darriell Morning, a recruiter at Acquire, was asked by leadership to create a meaningful way for Acquire to recognize Black History Month, she sprang into action. In what she called a “whole People Team effort,” Darriell and her colleagues curated a stunning multi-prong celebration of Black history that engaged teammates on both an individual, and collective level. I recently got to chat with Darriell about just how she did it.
The Idea
Darriell had witnessed many companies gesture at Black History Month without taking meaningful action. Changing social media icons may be a highly visible action, but it doesn’t tangibly impact the communities it is supposed to celebrate. Darriell and her team didn’t just want to recognize Black history and culture, they wanted to celebrate it, in a way that bridged learning and joy while actively supporting Acquire’s focus on allyship. Their multi-prong approach included curated gift boxes of products from Black-owned businesses, biweekly playlists, historical facts, and a curated booklist for folks to learn about the Black experience.
The Challenge
Darriell and her team needed to work within budget and timeline constraints to bring their initiative to life. More practically, Darriell and her team needed to source and send 60 gift boxes to their teammates. Logistics challenges arose when some items weren’t delivered in time for the boxes to ship. Beyond the gift boxes, the team needed to source and provide meaningful content to the larger company throughout the month of February and beyond.
The Outcome
As you can see from the photos in this article, Darriell and her team pulled it off and then some! They shipped 60 beautiful gift boxes to their colleagues, full of products from Black-owned businesses (see below for their list of businesses to check out!). Rather than telling colleagues to support Black-owned businesses, they put the products in their homes and in their hands so they could experience them for themselves. The boxes were only the beginning, with biweekly playlists, a booklist (Assata Shakur, Malcolm X, and Ibram Kendi were just a few authors on the list), learning opportunities, and a virtual sweet potato pie baking class with Rose McGee. I learned about the initiative by seeing multiple team members post about the impact of the experience and gift box on LinkedIn.
What Worked?
Teamwork: In this “whole People Team effort”, team members jumped in to suggest songs and books, alter the box contents when some items wouldn’t arrive on time, and design the beautiful cards that would introduce people to both the boxes and initiative at large.
Making it personal: Not only did Darriell and her team bring personal touches to the elements of their Black History Month celebration, by adding songs that were meaningful to them, books they found impactful, and products they loved…they also made the experience personal for their colleagues. By creating a sensory experience for their team, they made it more likely that their coworkers would engage in meaningful ways.
Strong leadership and values: Darriell credits leadership support for her vision as a key factor in bringing this initiative to life. She had the green light to do things her way and create something brand new, not constrained by what had been created before. Further, active and intentional allyship is central to Acquire’s mission and team culture. This initiative was in line with that value and empowered team members to live into their commitment to allyship.
Show, don’t tell: By sending gift boxes, Darriell and her team didn’t just tell team members to buy from Black-owned businesses but brought these items into their home to demonstrate how amazing they are. Colleagues could engage with playlists, tangible items, a baking event (allowing them to share their experience with their household), trivia, or books. More ways in means more ways to learn and engage!
Darriell’s Advice for Cultivators
Do the work: When creating initiatives based on culture, make sure to be respectful. Throughout our talk, Darriell emphasized the importance of research and making sure there is time, effort, and intentionality put into each element.
Ask for help: In this example, leadership at Acquire asked Darriell if she would be willing to work on this initiative. She wants Cultivators to bring that level of thoughtful awareness to considering whether they should be the ones planning a particular event or project. She highlighted the importance of seeking the input of folks from the identity you’re focusing on when seeking to recognize culture.
Make it fun: Darriell said that a lot of what she learned at school about Black History focused on the same things: slavery, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. What she learned at home and in her own community was more nuanced, expansive, and joyful. She wanted to bring that spirit of celebration to this initiative, allowing colleagues to celebrate their own culture, or learn about one different from theirs in a multi-faceted way. We’d say she succeeded!
Connect with Darriell & get inspired by other changemakers like her by joining our Cultivators Community.
Black-owned Businesses List
Clothes, Shoes, + Accessories:
Home: Photography, Candles, Body Care:
Photodom (Photography Shop)
Kicky Mats (Doormats + Accessories)
Artpce (Wall Art)
Alaffia (Hair + Body)
Snacks + Tea:
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