Three Ideas for Promoting Black History Month

February is officially designated in the United States and Canada as Black History Month. According to blackhistorymonth.gov, the event was founded in February 1926 by Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and his organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), as Negro History Week, encompassing the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

In 1976, the celebration was expanded to the entire month of February. At that time, President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Since then, every American president has issued Black History Month proclamations. 

What can you do this February to promote Black History Month within your business or facility? Check out the ways these cleaning companies have acknowledged Black history as inspiration for your own ideas.

Honor Online

Assuming your business or facility has a website and social media accounts (and if not, definitely check out Polish Your Online Presence), those can be convenient avenues for promoting Black History Month and communicating your support.

For example, Press, an app software company for laundry and dry-cleaning pickup services, featured an article on Thomas Jennings, a person in African American history who had made a direct impact on its industry. In 1821, Jennings became the first African American to receive a patent in the United States. The process he had patented paved the way for the technology behind modern-day dry cleaning.

In 2021, ISSA member Team Clean Inc., a Philadelphia-based janitorial company, posted an article on its website that shared the beginnings of Black History Month and noted specific African Americans who had “played a pivotal role in shaping history.”

Throughout the month, Corvus Janitorial Services also celebrates online. According to its website, the company’s regional office “will research, profile, and exhibit impactful or ground-breaking entrepreneurs from the African American community; those who paved the way in terms of innovation, success and breaking of traditional barriers for subsequent entrepreneurs…of all backgrounds.”

Connect to Media

Many media outlets use Black History Month as a way to promote African American business owners and leaders. For example, 11Alive news in Atlanta, Georgia, ran a segment in 2022 that featured the achievements of various African-Americans in the state, including Yusof Lewis, owner of  RefreshCoATL, a technology-based residential cleaning company that he started while he was still a college senior. Similarly, you can reach out to your area’s newspapers, radio stations, and TV news programs for opportunities to be featured this month.

Throw a Party

This year, Yes Buddy Cleaning Services in Ontario, Canada, is recognizing Black History Month in a big way by throwing a full-on public event on February 25. Five hours have been set aside to celebrate Black history and culture with an evening of conversation, prizes, food, and music.