Juneteenth (June 19th, 1865), also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day represents the day when the last group of enslaved African American’s were informed of their freedom, 2.5 years after the Emancipation proclamation was signed. Texas slave-owners deliberately withheld the information from their slaves and slave-owners in northern states sent their slaves to Texas to keep them enslaved. On this day, Union Soldiers (many whom were black) arrived in Galveston, Texas and notified all 250,000 slaves that they’ve actually been free for quite sometime…… Imagine the feelings everyone had that day…
Celebrating Juneteenth
Celebrating Juneteenth goes beyond giving employees the opportunity to celebrate their own and their colleagues’ heritage and acknowledge the insufferable inhumane acts of slavery that some of their ancestors may have experienced. It is a call for the rest of the world to acknowledge and appreciate the scars that slavery has left amongst the United States. The day is also about appreciating and understanding the remnants of racial injustice that Black people in America deal with to this day. It is a call to remove your own racial bias and to stand up for the minority groups around you.
To celebrate Juneteenth, it is therefore important to be an ally to the community. This can be demonstrated through furthering your education, having conversations about race, reflecting on your own bias and importantly, supporting black-owned businesses and the members of the black community.
At Jarvis, we engaged in a series of events over June to celebrate Juneteenth!
The Jarvis Team in the Miami office ate a delicious catered lunch from Lil Greenhouse Grill a black owned restaurant located in over town Miami.
Some of the Jarvis Team in the Birmingham UK Office ate a delicious lunch from Jamaya, a black owned restaurant located in Solihull, UK.
The Jarvis Team in the Miami office participated in a ‘Black out clothing day’ within the office to demonstrate solidarity and support for the Juneteenth Celebrations.
Jarvis employees all joined a virtual celebration with the Museum of the African Diaspora!
Jarvis are on a mission to change the way the world recruits. This includes getting the right people, in the right seats, at the right time; regardless of the individual’s race, gender, sexuality, age, disability and any other factor that is not relevant to an employee’s performance.
Diversity is a core belief at Jarvis, and not in a “tick box” way like many organizations. We have carefully designed our business and our diversity strategy to achieve our diversity metrics. We plan our hires carefully, and we have a culture that supports everyone free from biases.
Our Talent Partners are taught how to remove biases in the hiring process both internally and externally, for our clients, to ensure the right person is in the right seat – regardless of race.
Jarvis stands with the Juneteenth celebration and will always do all we can to help remove racial injustice.
