Now that the blinders have been removed, there appears to be a race for which company can post the most emotionless message in "support" of Black Lives Matter. I caution you and your business. Be extremely careful not to post for the sake of posting. History is being made and your brand will be remembered for what it said/did or didn't say/didn't do. And that should be taken seriously, especially now.
Perhaps start by asking "what is your intention" for the post? If it's only to be part of the conversation, do everyone a favor: don't post. It's a slap in the face to the black community to read post after post of companies making generic statements "in support of the movement." How will these transparent posts make a difference? Years of systemic racism are being addressed, citizens are pouring their hearts out: laying their pain bare. And your response is to post a statement that was likely copied from another company? You can do better. You must do better. The black community needs companies to take action. Period. The time for blanketed apologies are officially gone. More is required.
What does your leadership team look like? Do you have a diversity and inclusion program?
How does your company handle claims of discrimination? This is what matters. This is what the community needs. They need to know their lives matter to you company and that you respect their dollar as well. Can you confidently look at your black employees and say to them that your company truly cares about their life and their community? If not, you should be working on your company values, not social media posts.
Black people are going through a lot emotionally as this battle has been fought since birth. The explosion of systemic racism and the need to explain so much of what is obvious is a drain. Yet, they still have to be strong for their families, maintain focus on their jobs all while digesting tons of insincere posts and comments, abusive posts and comments, dismissive posts and comments, videos of another assault or murder, the list goes on and on. The company they work for should not be adding more to that list.
Let's put it this way, everything you post is a document and they're here to stay. Decades from now these posts can be used against your company. Or they can be used to support it. Either way it's important to make sure your posts actually align with your company values. If you're claiming that your company supports this movement, you better be supporting it with more than posts.
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