We honor and celebrate the Black leaders who have inspired our community, not only during Black History Month but every day. To commemorate this occasion, we would like to highlight some of our Black-owned business members and Black Business Leaders who are part of our community. Join us in honoring their journey and discovering more about the Black leaders who have made Raleigh a vibrant and inclusive city.

The Triangle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Alliance and the Raleigh Chamber were proud to support National Black Business Month this August. This national month of recognition was launched in 2004 by historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr., to raise awareness of the challenges Black businesses face and as a tool to advocate for the entrepreneurs that run Black businesses.

For any underrepresented group, the power of self-affirmation can’t be overestimated. For my LGBTQ+ community, Pride month is our time to celebrate and collectively, along with our allies, to affirm our identities. It’s also a time to reflect on the progress that we have made toward increasing our visibility and advancing equality. Sometimes that progress feels immense, albeit long overdue, like in June 2015 when the US Supreme Court recognized same-sex couples marriage equality in all 50 states. And sometimes that progress feels threatened, as with North Carolina’s newest piece of proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, HB755, a version of the “don’t say gay bill”, prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from being included in the curriculum for certain grades, which is going through the legislative process. Which begs the question, are we really making systemic change that empowers LGBTQ+ individuals to celebrate their authentic selves? And when it comes to the workplace are we really supporting our LGBTQ+ employees and making strides toward sustainability equality?

The workforce employment rate for the visually impaired has historically been exceptionally low, but that is slowly changing with companies beginning to finally realize that the visually impaired are natural problem solvers, and are creative, resilient, and innovative out of necessity. Kamille Richardson, founder of iSee Technologies spoke more on this topic.

When considering DEI in the workplace, the topic of appearance cannot be overlooked. If the goal is to achieve a diverse, equitable, and inclusive business space that allows each individual to be their authentic self, then consideration must be given to how individuals choose to express themselves visually.

Businesses across the country are working diligently to create a work culture that is truly inclusive - especially for the hairstyles of black women. That’s why we held a Courageous Conversation on the topic, where we heard from one of the co-founders of the CROWN Act, Adjoa B. Asamoah, as well as from several local leaders in the space.

The Raleigh Chamber and The Triangle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Alliance are proud partners in this movement to address systemic racism in our community. On Feb. 17, we hosted a Community Success Forum to provide more information about our community-wide initiative, “A Better Wake.”

United Way of the Greater Triangle (UWGT) has the bold mission to eradicate poverty and increase social mobility through the power of partnerships. In pursuit of that mission, we serve a four-county region — Wake, Durham, Orange, and Johnston — in which more than 200,000 residents experience poverty every day.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 30 percent of workers in the construction industry are of Hispanic origin. Construction companies like Skanska have translators on job sites who provide safety instructions and communicate project tasks in Spanish, but sometimes information gets lost in translation.

Everyone has altered certain aspects of their personality to fit in at some point in their career. For historically underrepresented employees, changing one’s appearance, behavior, or speech can become an everyday survival tool to fit in and advance at work. It’s called code-switching.

Tamara Terry holds many titles at RTI International, which is a shout out to the expansive and important work she does. I sat down with her to discuss the importance of this work and what drives her every day.

Achieving diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging has become a widely held goal for many corporations. But what do these words mean, and why do they matter?