Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion with Joy and Authenticity

A Guide for Organizations and Event Planners Celebrating Heritage Months

Heritage Months are far too often squandered by well-meaning organizations due to a disturbing tradition of surface level celebrations.  Whether it’s the 4th grade classroom bulletin board featuring the same three faces at Black History Month each February or Asian American and Pacific Islander Month centering on just one of the myriad of rich cultural traditions and histories rooted in a vast and varied continent - surface level celebrations risk tokenism, stereotyping, and cultural tourism.  

If Heritage Months in your organization are last-minute nods to any cultural difference from white dominant cisgender patriarchal culture, then you have failed to imagine, plan, and resource the authentic celebrations envisioned by those who fought and advocated for recognition in the American calendar. 

In the wake of our nation’s ongoing racial reckoning, many organizations are committing or recommitting to doing the hard DEI work that must be done to counter white supremacy culture and rebuild trust centering the experiences of BIPOC staff.  Reckoning matters.  A lot.  But it’s not the whole story.  The story of our diversity is more than our suffering; it’s also our joy, our traditions, our love, our art, and our triumphs.  Heritage Months are themselves triumphs that offer us the opportunity to center the experiences of ourselves, our colleagues, friends, and neighbors purposefully - with joy and respect.  

The following advice - blocked into big ideas and event planning tips - is built for event planners or anyone planning regular meetings or professional development for staff.  My hope is that this advice helps you to embrace the beauty and rich traditions of so many of the cultures that make up the United States through Heritage Months.

BIG IDEA 1: Know The History and Acknowledge the Present

During Hispanic Heritage month - a very personal celebration for me given my Colombian heritage and identity - I think about history and purpose.  In 1968, The United States celebrated Hispanic Heritage Week for the first time, starting on September 15th given the uniquely powerful historical significance of that week.  On September 15, 1821 the following Central American countries declared their independence from Spain: Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.  On September 16, 1810 Mexico declared independence from Spain.  That same week Belize declared independence from Great Britain and Chile declared independence from Spain.   It wasn’t until 1989 that we expanded that celebration to a full 31 days, thanks to the advocacy of Representative Esteban E. Torres of California.

Every Heritage Month has a history.  Do your research, and build experiences to honor that history.

At the same time, the experiences of those celebrated by Heritage Months are very real today.  Avoid the risk of speaking about Heritage Months as though heroes, inequities and biases are stories of the past.  Native American History Month, first federally declared by proclamation in 1990, is as much a celebration of the 6.9 million Native American people living in the United States today as it is a reflection on the brutal history and cultural genocide of the last 600 years.  It is an opportunity to explore and address some of the issues Native American people face today such as environmental exploitation, unequal education, and cultural appropriation through mascots.  It’s also an opportunity to celebrate and honor the leadership of Native American people throughout history and today.  Native American History Month is an opportunity to undo the myth that Native American History is complete; and explore the rich diversity of histories in the making.

BIG IDEA 2: Honor Specific Stories and Explore Intersectionality

Avoid simplifying the cultures represented in Heritage Months through stereotypical imagery or sweeping narratives that cover multiple cultures through one story.  Hispanic Heritage Month isn’t tacos and tequila.  It is better to deeply explore a few authentic stories than to go broader in ways that erase the very histories and people you seek to celebrate.  As an example, there are 574 federally recognized sovereign tribes today, and many more still unrecognized tribes.  Celebrating Native American History Month exclusively with imagery of teepees is a gross misrepresentation of history and the assumption of sameness erases the much more complex history and multitude of rich cultural traditions.  While it would be impossible to deeply explore the history and current stories of 574 tribes in one month, choosing a few or even one to engage with authentically and directly is far better than rewriting history for the convenience of Heritage Month celebrations.  

Intersectionality also matters.  During Women’s History Month, you’ll likely recognize 1920 and women’s suffrage as well as ongoing inequities when it comes to compensation and labor in the home.  Avoid the pitfall of telling the story of white women and erasing the historical and present experiences of women of color.  As an example, explore the leadership role of Black suffragists and the disproportionate income gaps for women of color today.  Similarly, during LGBTQ and Pride month, go beyond the dominant narrative of the white LGBTQ experience to celebrate LGBTQ leaders of color and to explore the challenges for LGBTQ people who also have another marginalized identity.

BIG IDEA 3: Representation and the Role of Allies

Representation means that those staff members whose identity or heritage is being celebrated have a stake in the celebration and the opportunity to give input.  It doesn’t mean that they are asked to do all of the work as volunteers beyond their full-time roles.  One approach might be to build a committee that meets a few times to surface ideas and give feedback on draft plans for the (internal or external) event planner.  Your organization is so much more likely to engage in authentic celebration when you give voice and veto power to the folks whose heritage or identity is being celebrated.

What can allies do?

• Honor the decision-making role of those who share the identity of the Heritage Month.

• Recognize the time and budget needed for authentic celebration.

• Protect affinity space built for safety and privacy.

• Show up when invited and lead through learning.

EVENT PLANNING TIP 1: Plan in Advance and Assign an Owner

Authentic celebration of Heritage Months deserves and requires advance planning and dedicated capacity.  Too many of the harmful mistakes organizations make acknowledging Heritage Months are due to poor last-minute choices.  Advance planning means having an annual calendar in place and planning for each Heritage Month starting 2-3 months in advance.

Capacity means dedicated, compensated time (not a volunteer responsibility on top of a full-time role).  If you have an internal team focused on events, DEI, or learning and development, perhaps this is someone’s primary responsibility.  If your organization doesn’t have that capacity built in, I recommend partnering with an events consultant who can give your annual plan the time and attention it deserves.

EVENT PLANNING TIP 2: Consider Your Vendors and Meeting Practices

Whether it’s hosting a team meal, choosing speakers, or considering the music, art, or branding for your celebration, choose vendors who share the identity and celebrate the cultures of the Heritage Month.  

Consider your typical meeting practices.  Do they reflect the unique cultural traditions of the Heritage Month?  If not, this is an opportunity not only to bring in vendors, but also to adjust your practice.  As an example, for a celebration of Native American History Month, it might feel off to skip a land acknowledgement and get right into a packed agenda.  This is a great place to lean on your representative steering committee for ideas and suggestions, and be open to doing things differently. https://native-land.ca/

EVENT PLANNING TIP 3: Center the Celebration and Include Everyone

Affinity space matters and should be protected.  

However, making Heritage Month celebrations optional to the full team or company sends a message that celebrating diversity is optional.  Then when or if attendance is low, this backfires and harms those you meant to celebrate.  Instead, the team-wide or company-wide celebration should be mandatory and in regular mandatory time - such as a monthly team meeting or lunch.  This centers the celebration in regular practice, and also means that your regular practice centers celebrations of diversity.

I hope you have benefitted from these big ideas and event planning tips.  If you’d like to learn more about working with a DEI centered events and experiences professional for your Heritage Months, reach out to Trisha Leon-Guerrero.