Celebrate Juneteenth 2022
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19th to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. It was designated as a US Federal holiday in 2021.
Creating an
Inclusive Workplace
Virgin Pulse’s Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) strategy and efforts have led to the creation of several Employee Impact Groups (EIGs) to engage our Black, LGBTQ+, women, and other employee communities. These EIGs have helped make strides in our collective efforts to create a more inclusive workplace.
We have made a multi-tiered commitment to revise our internal policies and procedures to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce by reimagining our job postings, candidate evaluations, and hiring processes to ensure we have adequate representation on the interview slate.
A Message from BOLD Leadership
The Black Organizers, Leaders, and Doers (BOLD) Employee Impact Group (EIG) has developed a great program to celebrate Juneteenth. Roddy Thompson, Chair of BOLD, and Andrew Reeves, BOLD Ally Executive Sponsor, have recorded this message to share their thoughts on the significance of Juneteenth.
Songs of
Freedom & Protest
Music has always been a beloved aspect of Black culture. It has long been a powerful tool to unite Black people and it has also been an effective vehicle to share aspects of the Black experience with the outside world. This year’s celebration is an exploration of Black music and poetry.
Spotify Playlists
BOLD has created five Spotify playlists (no subscription needed)
Members of BOLD shared their personal reflections on these playlists. They provide great perspective into the music that defined these eras of the Black experience.
Poetry Corner:
What It Means to Be Free
Along with music, the spoken word is a wonderful outlet to share the Black experience. We held a poetry corner where participants shared their favorite poetry and songs that reflect the ideas of freedom, justice, and protest in post-Civil War America.
Music Roundtable:
Message in the Music
The focus of BOLD's Juneteenth celebration this year is the importance of music in the Black cultural experience. We held a music roundtable discussion where we listened to and discussed the importance of music that touches upon Black identity and notions of freedom.
Support Black Businesses
While there are several ways to commemorate Juneteenth, buying from a Black-owned business is a great way to support this holiday. BOLD has curated this list of Black-owned businesses; it’s a mix of online retailers and businesses located near our US offices.
Select from the companies below and click on the image to be taken to their website.
Black
Clemens Bags
Goods & Apparel
Organics
Design Studio