You likely knew that last year, Minnesota joined fifteen other states in officially recognizing the second Monday of every October as Indigenous Peoples Day. You probably had a pretty good idea of what that meant, too: that rather than celebrating Christopher Columbus (who, in fact, had a history of committing atrocities against Indigenous People), our state would honor Native Americans instead.
This month, SkyWater Search Partners celebrated our tenth annual “Walk a Mile for a Smile” event in support of Smile Network International, one of our favorite international charitable organizations.
At SkyWater Search Partners, we believe that vibrant communities are built through strong community partnerships. Each quarter, we honor a top-performing team member with the gift of a substantial financial donation, in their name, to a nonprofit organization of their choosing.
As Minnesotans celebrate Juneteenth as a state holiday for the second year, we would like to pass along this story about Minnesota playwright and activist Rose McGee. McGee’s long-running play, “Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story,” has been bringing the meaning of this holiday to life for communities across our state and several others, through the power of storytelling, music, and sweet potato pie.
Pride Month is a time to celebrate love, diversity, the progress made within the LGBTQ community, and the countless, often unnamed heroes that have brought about that progress. At the center of these celebrations is the Pride Flag, a global symbol of the pride, inclusion, and unity that all members of the community deserve to experience.
Small Town, Big Dreams
Cornelia “Coya” Knutson always wanted to become an opera singer. It was a distant dream for a girl born in 1912 and raised on a small farm in North Dakota, but she went for it. After earning her degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, Knutson was admitted to the Juilliard School of Music. A year into it, though, she decided a career in music wasn’t for her.
Part of our Women's History Month Series: Celebrating Pioneering Women at Work
This month, in celebration of Women's History Month, SkyWater Search Partners will highlight the achievements and legacies of Pioneering Women at Work. Here, we spotlight Margaret Hamilton, one of the most consequential yet under-appreciated figures in the history of space exploration. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientist whose pioneering work in software engineering was central to the Apollo space program's success, Hamilton led the software team responsible for enabling Apollo 11 astronauts to land safely on the moon.
“I do not see myself as a footnote to someone else’s life…”
-Martha Gellhorn.
Part of our Women's History Month Series: Celebrating Pioneering Women at Work
Today, in celebration of International Women's Day, SkyWater Search Partners is spotlighting Martha Gellhorn, a wildly talented trailblazer whose courage and tenacity paved the way for future generations of women in journalism. More than just a witness to history, Gellhorn was a fierce and fearless participant whose words and photographs captured the raw essence of human conflict and compassion.
During this Black History Month, I hope you and your team have enjoyed immersing yourselves in some of the celebrations available to us all this February. As we approach the end of the month, it feels like the right time to step back and reflect on how we can take the lessons of Black History and use them to do better as employers and community members. What can we do to advance the ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion? How do we ensure they reverberate for our teams and shape our efforts going forward? At their core, these ideals are not only about becoming wiser, more inclusive human beings in our personal lives. They're also a rallying cry, encouraging us to reconsider the systems, practices, and structures that continue to get in the way of achieving diversity and equity in the workplace.
Here are some things we're learning along the way that are important for all employers to remember as we continue on our journey.
"There is no American history without African American history.”
Sara Clarke Kaplan, executive director, American University Antiracist Research & Policy Center (ARPC), 2022 interview with NPR
