Black History Month: How Clear Channel Outdoor is Celebrating

This tradition began in 1926 with historian Carter G Woodson who wanted the Black experience to be rightfully told in American history when it wasn39t at that point in time What began as a oneweek commemoration has expanded into the monthlong celebration we join in todayWhen our nation was engulfed in one of the largest calls for social justice last year employees within organizations felt compelled to speak up and companies were prompted to reflect on the changes necessary to ensure diversity equity and inclusion in the workplace Real change takes time it doesn39t happen overnight But what39s important is if the change is taking place to begin with and above all that it39s meaningfulAt Clear Channel Outdoor CCO we39re harnessing the power and pervasiveness of our outofhome OOH media to celebrate cultural moments and milestones like Black History Month While internally we39re building a roadmap of diversity and inclusion DampampI initiatives to engage and support our employees in purposeful ways As a member of CCO39s Executive Diversity Advisory Council EDAC I39d like to share some of the steps we39re already taking in our journey to drive change in our own communities and ultimately foster diversity of culture and thought in our organizationHonoring Black History Celebrating InspirationThroughout this month we39re highlighting quotes by known and not so well known Black Americans that embody the spirit of hope healing and unity we strive for in our society and at CCO These messages are displayed against a symbolic backdrop of red green and black across our national digital displaysIn partnership with EDAC these twelve individuals were thoughtfully selected not only for their inspiring words but for their pioneering work in their respective fields and activismMartin Luther King Jr minister activist and spokesperson of the civil rights movementShirley Chisholm politician and first African American woman elected to US CongressBarbara Jordan lawyer who was the first Black woman elected to the Texas Senate and first Black Texan in CongressMaya Angelou poet and author known for her unique autobiographical writing styleJames Baldwin essayist playwright novelist and voice of the civil rights movementBayard Rustin civil rights and gay rights leader and organizerFannie Lou Hamer leader in the civil voting and women39s rights movementsWEB Du Bois sociologist and scholar who became the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard UniversityAmanda Gorman activist and youngest inaugural poet in US historyFrederick Douglass social reformer writer and leader in the abolitionist movementBooker T Washington political advisor writer and educator who founded what is now known as Tuskegee UniversityThurgood Marshall lawyer who served as the first Black Supreme Court justice instrumental in ending legal segregationAs a big fan of quotes myself I particularly resonated with the following words of Amanda Gorman which she spoke at this year39s presidential inauguration for a recitation of her poem quotThe Hill We ClimbquotWhen hearing this line I think about the courage it takes to challenge yourself and see the things you perhaps didn39t see before Ultimately that helps you recognize the work you need to do in a specific area amp8211 a step forward in the right directionDriving Change at the CoreThe EDAC has already made some progress mapping out CCO39s DampampI journey To start our group has moved forward with completing an assessment to measure each member39s openness to DampampI and identifying a training partner as well as online training to raise DampampI awareness across the companyA few months ago we rolled out a survey designed to receive feedback from our employees on key DampampI initiatives they would like to see CCO take on Those were eventually broken down into three pillars Workforce Workplace and MarketplaceBased on the results in each area we39ll prioritize and implement DampampI companywide initiatives that matter most to our employees The next step is to look at how we can carry out those initiatives externally through the use of our medium A part of that is aligning with organizations working on causes that affect the lives of those within the communities we serveWe39re now at a place where we need to move beyond only seeing others based on commonalities We need to also embrace the differences each of us bring to the table I believe this will be the evolution of DampampI in workplaces moving forwardAn Inclusive FutureWhile this month is dedicated to commemorating the accomplishments of Black Americans throughout history our commitment to uplift support and learn more about our communities of different cultural backgrounds is a yearround effort And with the growing digital and creative capabilities of OOH there39s opportunity for us to explore how we can create even deeper connections among people who already see the messages on our media in ways that spark longterm impactCelebrating Black History Month is just the start of a path in building a more inclusive future where our employees partners and communities can collectively thriveWe39ll continue to further amplify our campaign across our own social media channels through February so every quote featured is seen in its entirety by our online viewers in addition to our offline onesClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Black History Month: How Clear Channel Outdoor is Celebrating

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Lisa Mabry

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