The Shift
In 2020 the horrific murder of George Floyd captured the attention of not only millions of Americans but major corporations as well.
Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis Police officer forced companies to examine their stance on social justice issues and evaluate their recruiting and hiring practices.
The renewed interest in finding candidates of color for corporate jobs put the 106 HBCUs in the driver’s seat for the past two years.
“I have been in the diversity and inclusion space for over 30 years now,” said Kenneth James, chief diversity officer for Muskegon Community College in Michigan. “There has been a dramatic shift since the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery tragedies.” James said. Ken Speaks
2020 Black Lives Matter Protest Beverly Hills, CA
2020 Black Lives Matter Protest Beverly Hills, CA
2020 Black Lives Matter Protest Beverly Hills, CA
2020 Black Lives Matter Protest Beverly Hills, CA
For decades James tried to address the hiring gap and failure of companies to understand the importance of representing the communities they serve.
“My question is what do you need to have in place to retain those folks?” he said. “Traction is one thing, retention is another.”
Creating a space for employees to feel valued, heard and understood is important if the company wants to foster a progressive culture.
Hiring people of color is the first step to creating a workforce that represents a community. Putting people of color in management positions is key to fully capturing the perspectives they bring to the table.
“You do not just want to check the box and never address it again, it has to be a part of a long game.” James said.
All Eyes on HBCUs
After 2020, Fortune 500 companies zeroed in on Historically Black Universities and Colleges. Billionaire philanthropists like McKenzie Scott, who co-founded Amazon with her ex-husband Jeff Bezos, donated millions of dollars to HBCUs while corporate companies began to swiftly shift their strategies to focus on recruiting and retaining talent directly from these universities.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have had a strong history when it comes to developing successful and educated Black talent for the American workplace.
Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Stephen A. Smith, and Spike Lee all have attended HBCUs, and the first Black woman Vice President, Kamala Harris is also an HBCU graduate.
With a major growing interest into these universities by corporations, Karan Dyson, the Vice President of Operations and Engineering at Proctor and Gamble, said online recruiting makes it easy to reach prospective employees.
“Once everything went virtual, it made recruiting efforts easier,” Dyson said. “Companies could now express their interest within seconds and recruit at a faster pace.”
CNN reported that Prairie View A&M University, an HBCU located in the Houston area, saw a 56% rise in the number of companies participating in its spring 2020 virtual career fair. Companies participating in the school's fall semester career fair jumped from 122 in 2019 to 233 in 2020.
Seana Coulter, the director of the center for career development at Morgan State University, an HBCU located outside of Baltimore, told CNN that her university saw a 73% increase in the number of events hosted by corporate companies and a surge in organizations wishing to diversify their talent by recruiting from her university.
Most HBCUs were founded to provide a liberal arts education and train students for careers as teachers or ministers and missionaries, while others focused on preparing students for specific trades in the fields of business, engineering or agricultural occupation.
Breanna Davis, an executive at the Proctor and Gamble company, said corporations should support historically black colleges and universities no matter what the current climate of the country may be.
“HBCUs have a long-standing history of producing equitable and successful Black talent at all levels throughout corporate America. Here at Proctor and Gamble we have over 20 HBCU graduates that are at the executive level with a long-standing record of bringing successful talent behind them.
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Corporate Responsibility
Davis, who is an HBCU graduate of Tuskegee University, said the experiences she had during her undergrad years gave her the necessary tools to maneuver through the corporate world. From internships, to career fairs and workshops, Tuskegee University helped guide her.
Breanna Davis
Now, as an Alumna, she is keeping those investments going.
“We help get students opportunities and hands-on experiences so they can build out their careers before they graduate,” she said. “The student helps us build a diverse talent pipeline to make sure we have equitable representation.”
With more fortune 500 companies finding the importance to partner with HBCUs, a few have made strong commitments to creating change and supporting African American students. American students. Bank of America announced a 1.25 billion dollar investment into HBCUs, where students at select schools will receive grants and scholarships, leadership training, on-demand market research, and opportunities to collaborate with peer institutions.
The president of Tuskegee University, Charlotte Morris, discussed the importance of donating money towards HBCUs and their endowment funds.
"Our universities do not have huge endowments like the Harvards or Yales, " Morris explains.
"So by investing into the University and the endowment ... you are investing into our students and will help with the sustainability and future of our institutions."
Donating money and diversifying the boardroom is one thing, but progressively taking the stance and making the necessary investments to ensure changes are being made is how we will continue to see a positive trajectory in this new era of social justice and equality.
