I’m just trying to use my platform to make a positive impact on my community and most importantly the people that looks like me… Sue me!!!
As some people may know, I recently took a leadership role at Under Armour as part of UA’s Human Resources Diversity & Inclusion Employee Resource Group for black employees. The group is called UA B.E.A.T. which stands for Under Armour Black Employees Achieving Together. At UA, Employee Resource Groups are referred to as Culture Clubs which has a nice casual ring to it when you say/hear it. The goals of UA B.E.A.T. is to cultivate a communal atmosphere designed to create and maintain professional growth opportunities for black teammates at UA through career, community, culture, and commerce initiatives. The team planned a lot of great activations for Black History Month this year including a closing celebration at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore City.
Two of the events that I’m proud of the most was the MLK Day of Service event and the District Running Collective Black History Month Celebration. January 20, 2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the day of service which celebrates the life of the great Dr. Martin Luther the King Jr. We were able to get some members of BEAT and other UA teammates to the UA House at Fayette (on our day off) to spend a couple of hours with the youth in the program engaging in various Black History Month Inspired activities. I definitely learned a lot from the different activities and the kids appeared engaged as well.
District Running Collective (DRC) is a run club based in Washington DC that’s doing great work in bringing people of color together to run. DRC believes that they can change the way people view running while at the same time having a positive impact on Washington DC. One of the co founders, Matt Green, invited us to participate in one of their BHM activations. The goal was for us out to not only share our experiences about working at Under Armour, but also begin the foundation towards building a relationship between BEAT & DRC. One of the best part of the conversation was hearing someone say how much they support UA because of the impact DRC has had on their individual lives. I think sometimes we forget the importance of human connections play in overall marketing/brand support. It was a great night to celebrate black culture in such a casual setting and I was happy to partake in the panel conversation.
Whether it’s a casual conversation speaking to peers that look like you or playing Black History Month trivia with kids, we can all make an impact on our communities. It’s our job to use the platform and resources provided and continue to push it forward.