Driverseat Honours Black History Month
Driverseat wasn’t founded by People of Colour. We acknowledge that this comes with a plethora of undeserved social privileges. While racial obstacles aren’t in our lived experience, it’s our responsibility to support anti-racism in our community in the form of allyship and continuing to provide People of Colour with opportunities to own their own business.
Black History Month is an opportunity to educate ourselves on the contribution that the Black-identifying POC makes in our world today. In particular, non-POC-owned businesses can step up in supporting Black initiatives, educate team members on discrimination, and use platforms to showcase Black stories, voices, businesses, and perspectives.
As you’ll see this month and beyond, Driverseat’s BHM initiatives take a focus in their dialogue. We’ve reached out to Black business leaders to hear their stories and used our platforms to showcase BIPOC endeavours. This is just a first step in a long journey of allyship, but we’re honoured to hear from folks from our community on what we can do better and how we can be better allies.
In the first of these dialogues, Dani Bazely, our Director of Marketing, interviewed Carl Cardogan, CEO of Reception House Waterloo Region, to discuss what it means to be a member of the BIPOC community in the business world.
“[Employers were] berating [hiring staff] for even considering me as a Black man”
In this interview, Carl Cardogan shared some of his stories about how racial bias created obstacles for him in his career, community, and personal safety. “[Employers were] berating [hiring staff] for even considering me as a Black man. … I’ve applied for jobs where I thought I probably wouldn’t get because of my race.”
Anti-Black racism is still happening every day. We shouldn’t just aim to celebrate this month – we should always acknowledge the implications of anti-Blackness.
To watch the video click here
Join the Driverseat team in supporting the Black community by celebrating Black History Month and create a positive change towards social equality.
How You Can Help:
- Support local Black-Owned Businesses
- Donate https://linktr.ee/actionDONATE
- Educate https://linktr.ee/actionEDUCATE
- Host events that feature Black guest speakers and voices
- Promote inclusivity at your workplace
- Sign petitions like https://www.change.org/t/black-lives-matter-en-us
Check out our other blogs on:
5 Ways to Build Trust in Your Team
Why You Should Incorporate Diversity and Inclusivity Practices and Programs into Your Organization
