Celebrating Black History Month 2025 in Minnesota Workplaces

Posted by Kurt Rakos on 2/4/25 2:11 PM
Kurt Rakos
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Celebrating BHM 2025 in MN

Black History Month is more than a celebration; it’s an opportunity to recognize the resilience, contributions, and brilliance of Black Americans throughout history. For Minnesota employers, this observance holds great significance.  

Actively celebrating Black History Month in the workplace signals more than just awareness—it underscores an organization’s commitment to inclusivity and appreciation for the diverse experiences, perspectives, and talents of their team. As executive recruiters, we see the positive impact these efforts have on candidates, current employees, and the communities in which organizations operate. These impacts are felt in many ways, including: 

  • Building Positive Company Culture: Recognition of Black achievements fosters a workplace environment where employees feel appreciated and valued, enhancing morale. 
  • Increasing Employee Engagement: Taking active steps to celebrate occasions like Black History Month encourages employees of all backgrounds to engage with the workplace and each other. 
  • Promoting Education: Celebrations can open doors to meaningful conversations about race, history, and equity initiatives, offering employees a chance to learn and reflect collectively. 

 This month, consider committing to longer-term, year-round efforts. These can take many different shapes. 

 

Organize Educational Events 

Host events that educate your team on the history and contributions of Black Americans. These can include: 

  • Guest Speakers: Invite local Black leaders, historians, or entrepreneurs to share their experiences and perspectives. 
  • Workshops and Panel Discussions: Facilitate workshops discussing systemic racial issues in workplaces and opportunities for allyship. 

 

Partner with Black-Owned Businesses 

Support and engage with Minnesota-based Black-owned businesses by: 

  • Featuring their products or services in company events. 
  • Hosting food trucks or showcasing items from Black chefs and creatives. 
  • Encouraging employees to shop locally at Black-owned establishments with organized incentives. 

 

Diversify Workplace Displays 

Decorate office spaces with artwork, posters, or books created by Black artists and writers. Partner with local organizations like The Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery for an authentic representation of culture and history. 

Encourage Internal Conversations 

Foster meaningful dialogue within the workplace to build understanding and strengthen relationships: 

  • Lunch-and-Learns: Host informal gatherings to discuss key moments of Black history and their ties to Minnesota. 
  • Book or Media Clubs: Encourage employees to read books, watch films, or listen to podcasts centered on Black stories—all of which could prompt engaging discussions. 

 

Volunteer and Give Back 

Encourage employees to take action by contributing to organizations uplifting Black communities in Minnesota. Provide paid volunteering time at local nonprofits or organize donation drives for local initiatives focused on education, health, or economic equity.  

 

Promote What’s Happening in Your Communities 

Fortunately, our state is home to a broad variety of opportunities to celebrate this month. Here’s just a tiny sample of this year’s Minnesota Black History Month events. 

 

Music: “The Sound of Gospel” 

Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E Exchange St, St Paul, MN 55101 

Saturday, February 8, 2025, 7:00 pm; Sunday, February 9, 3:00 pm 

This all-ages show is produced by playwright, producer, and director William Pierce of 2nd Chance Outreach and directed by two members of the beloved Twin Cities music and theater family, The Steeles: Jevetta Steele and Billy Steele. More info: https://first-avenue.com/home/2025-02-the-sound-of-gospel/ 

 

Artist’s Talk: “Diversity and the Outdoors” 

Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd, Saint Paul, MN 55102 

Saturday, February 8, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30 pm 

 “Learn about the changing face of conservation and outdoor recreation in America with acclaimed Duluth-based author, photographer and advocate, Dudley Edmondson. In this thought-provoking talk, Edmondson, explores the intersection of race, representation and environmental stewardship.” This event is part of the Minnesota History Center’s “North Star Voices Series.”More info: https://www.mnhs.org/blackhistory-blackvoices 

  

Lecture: “Peace in the Twenty-Second Century: An Afrofuturist History” 

Macalester College, Kagin Ballroom, 1600 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105 

Thursday, February 20, 2025, 4:45 pm - 6:00 pm 

In 2016, after the release of the Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War, Dr. Walter David Greason published the “Wakanda Syllabus,” bringing “two decades of artistic and intellectual work into a global discussion about black superheroes and science fiction. Just before Marvel Studios released Black Panther in 2018, Greason published his work on designing the urban infrastructure of Wakanda in Cities Imagined, co-authored with Julian Chambliss. The combination of the ‘Wakanda Syllabus’ and Cities Imagined deepened academic fascination with and exploration of the ideas of Afrofuturism. A reception with Professor Greason will follow the lecture. More info: RSVP Form (In-Person),  RSVP Form (Virtually) 

 

Food, Theater, Art: Black History Month Showcase 

February 21, 2025, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm 

Community Activity Center 

5600 85th Ave. N. 
Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 

Don’t miss this event that celebrates “the profound ways that work of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – shapes our city. Engage with community leaders and cheer on local performances.” This is an extraordinary opportunity for attendees to get to know the local artistic community and enjoy food from several Brooklyn Park restaurants. More info: https://www.brooklynpark.org/event/black-history-month-showcase/ 

 

Theater: Diamond Dreams: The Toni Stone Legacy, by Laura Mann Hill 

February 14 – March 2, 2025 
The Conn Theatre 
1900 Nicollet Ave 
Minneapolis, MN 55403 

“Step into the vibrant world of Toni Stone, the first woman to play in the Negro Baseball League. Inspired by her childhood in St. Paul’s Rondo Neighborhood in the 1930’s, this heartwarming and important story explores the origins, impact, and legacy of Toni Stone’s groundbreaking, barrier-shattering baseball career that opened the door for women in professional baseball.” For students in Grades 4 and above. More info: https://youthperformanceco.org/on-stage/diamond-dreams/#onstage 

 

MUSIC: The Sound of Black Music 

FEBRUARY 22, 7:30pm  

The O’Shaughnessy  

2004 Randolph Ave 

Saint Paul, MN 55105 

Originally created for the Fisher Center @ Bard’s BLACK ROOTS SUMMER in 2021, this groundbreaking production was subsequently listed among the Best New Theater of 2021 by The New York Times.” 

More info: The Sound of Black Music 

There is so much more to explore this month! To find more Minnesota Black History Month events, check out this list provided by CBS News.  

On behalf of everyone at SkyWater Search Partners, we wish you a thoughtful and celebratory Black History Month.  


 

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Topics: Workplace Culture, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion