Reflect, Rejoice, Reimagine: Celebrating Black History
Consumer Reports
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This year, CR embraced the spirit of community and celebration with a dynamic lineup of events to celebrate Black History Month. Thoughtfully curated by the Black Leadership Alliance (BLA) inclusion network, programming honored and explored the rich heritage of Black culture and the impact of Black consumers in the marketplace. Highlights included:
Week 1: History maker George McCary was interviewed by his son, T Nichiren, Associate Director, Planned & Major Gifts. One of the first responders in the country, McCary's troop of paramedics — an all-Black company known as Freedom House Ambulance, became the model for pre-hospital and CPR care for the rest of the country. Watch the Emmy-award-winning documentary about these trailblazers on YouTube here.
Week 2: The "Reaching Black Consumers" panel brought together media educator, Journalist, and DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) strategist Emma Carew Grovum, founder of Kimbap Media and brand and consumer strategist LaToya Christian, Managing Partner, GroupM to share their insights and engage our community around storytelling, technology, and authentic engagement with Black consumers. The discussion was moderated by Brian Vines, Deputy, Special Projects, with a special welcome by CR Board Member and media industry veteran Calvin Sims.
Week 3: From West Africa to the American South, soul food has become an expression of Black culture and a quintessential part of the Black experience. We were delighted to cook with "Chopped" champion and New York Times featured celebrity chef Kathleen O’Brien (aka Chefleen), who taught us the secrets to perfect southern fried chicken and fluffy biscuits while sharing the history of the dish’s beginnings.
Week 4: New York City's Lincoln Center poet-in-residence Mahogany L. Browne curated and led CR staffers and guests in an evening of enchanting poetry at The BLA Poet's Cafe at our NYC office.
In addition to these memorable and joyful events, our teams employed a multi-media approach to the CR stories focused on Black audiences. For example, “5 CR-Tested Black-Owned Brands I Love,” by Tanya Christian, highlighted products by Black-owned businesses that shined in our assessments and in Tanya’s home. See our TikTok video. Another story, “Nude Gets a Makeover,” by Brian Vines, examined the growing need for products that match a broad range of skin tones. For this story and others, we commissioned Black artists to help tell these stories and reach new audiences. Check out the informative Instagram post here.
Massive gratitude to BLA co-leaders Tanya Christian, Ursula Harris, PMP, CSM, and Brian Vines for their tireless work in programming four weeks of events that brought our community together to reflect, rejoice, and reimagine celebrating Black History, a movement that should be supported all year long.