Shades of Black: Inclusion to Innovation — Black History Month 2019
For Black History Month this year, our Black employee resource group (ERG) BlackDropboxers chose the theme: Shades of Black: Inclusion to Innovation.
Shades of Black is an acknowledgement of the incredible diversity that exists within the Black community. Just as a prism holds a diverse array of unseen color that exists within light, Black identity is multidimensional, intersectional, and kaleidoscopic. Shades of Black encapsulates the various backgrounds, stories, and people that encompass the Black experience.
We spoke with Caitlin O’Dowd and Michael Lewis, co-leads of BlackDropboxers, to discuss the theme and what it means to them.
Q: How did you come up with the theme for the month, and how does it connect with the content that Dropboxers will see through February?
Michael: We came up with this theme because it acknowledges the importance of diversity within the Black community. The Black community in the U.S. is an output of the African Diaspora, which incorporates people who have been in this country since before its founding to those who immigrated more recently from Africa, West Indies, Latin America, etc. The outward personification of this diversity is most easily seen via skin tone, but we wanted to speak to the richness that comes from this diversity within the Black community.
Caitlin: Putting together this particular theme was a BlackDropboxers community effort that involved our committee leads, co-leads, and our fantastic internal design team Black Ops. Over the years, we’ve found it to be particularly impactful to feature members of the ERG, showcasing their accomplishments, backgrounds, and commitment to Dropbox. Our hope is that through the visual representation of the variety of shades, we elicit an appreciation of the breadth that comprises the Black identity. I am so proud to work at a company where we have such great diversity in our very own BlackDropboxers ERG with respect to ethnicity, thought, talent, passion, interest, and ability. The diverse array of events during the month aim to capture a small part of that distinctiveness and magic.
Q: What does Shades of Black mean to both of you?
Michael: Beyond the literal meaning of the theme, I think the diversity within the Black community speaks to different ways of thinking and approaching problems based on someone’s diverse experience. I think this can be an example of why diversity is a critical factor in Dropbox’s future success because people of differing backgrounds will see and approach problems differently, which will lead to more innovative solutions. At a previous company, the CEO, regularly said, “We strive to create a diverse and inclusive work environment that encourages every associate to bring his or her whole self to work — not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because diversity in the workplace unleashes creativity and the power of innovation.” I think this speaks volumes about how diversity can yield innovation.
Caitlin: For me, the theme Shades of Black really inspires conversations around feelings of belonging, heritage, and the Black and African American identity. I think a lot about William E. Cross, Jr’s work to debunk the idea that self-hatred consumes the singular and stagnant Black identity. He specifically points to the Black Power Movement and the Black Consciousness Movement as pivotal moments in our history where we had opprotunities to shed prior harmful narratives around our identity and build our own. The work of W.E.B. DuBois, specifically on double consciousness, touches on how the Black identity is not only layered, but divided. It wasn’t even until later that he included Black women in that discussion. This fact reminds me of Deborah Gray White’s novel Ar’n’t I a Woman? In it, she states: “The impossible task confronts the Black woman. If she is rescued from the myth of the Negro, the myth of woman her. If she escapes the myth of woman, the myth of the Negro still ensnares her.” I say all this to say, the Black, African American identity is complex, multilayered, and for me, marked by adaptive strength. The Shades of Black theme is our ERG’s opportunity to reclaim our narrative and illustrate the depth and difference present in our community for the larger Dropbox community.
Q: How have you seen this theme show up in your own life?
Michael: My heritage speaks to these same shades. Part of my family migrated north to Philadelphia from post-reconstruction South Carolina seeking opportunity, while another part of my family immigrated to the U.S. via Ellis Island in the early 1900s from Grenada, West Indies. At the heart of these migrations was a desire to seek opportunity, but the differences in how this occurred are similar yet divergent when you think about my family history.
Caitlin: My mother is Black and my father is White. The notion of shades is huge for me as my immediate and extended family are a conglomeration of blended and biracial people. I think the difficult part is frequently confronting a lack of full acceptance in multiple communities, confronting the identity you’ve been assigned based on the perceptions of others and, given the history of the United States, you frequently don’t know much about your heritage as a Black person. I know that my mother’s family has relatives that they can trace back to Cameroon and Congo, but tracking individual movements after being sold in the United States has proven to be difficult. On a positive note, I am so thankful to have been able to find community within the BlackDropboxers ERG. Over the almost two years that I’ve been a co-lead, I have been accepted and embraced and empowered to speak on issues for our community. I would like to thank the BlackDropboxers family for everything that they have done and continue to do to make Dropbox a better place to work for all.
Q: What can Dropboxers (allies, especially) learn from this theme?
Michael: My hope is that Dropboxers see the celebration of how the diversity within the Black community can lead to innovation and take that as a call to action. I want everyone to think about what they can do individually to improve diversity and inclusion at Dropbox. Most importantly, I want Dropboxers to see that the quest for making Dropbox more diverse and inclusive is not just a desire based on altruism, but based on a business imperative to drive Dropbox’s growth.
Caitlin: As I reflect on our 2019 company goals, I hope people walk away from this month with a better understanding of why diversity matters in our professional lives. U.S. public companies with a diverse executive board have a 95% higher return on equity than those with non-diverse boards. I think we’ve gotten to the the point where most of us understand the business case behind increasing diversity numbers in the workplace. The harder part is recognizing that we all need to be individual contributors when it comes to attracting and retaining that talent. Our Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Angela Roseboro put it best last year when she stated, “We can put together the best strategy and the best plan, but if we are going to make actual progress, that rests within all of us.”
Check back soon to meet more Dropboxers. In the meantime visit us at dropbox.com/jobs.
