How to make respectful requests during Black History Month

It’s Black History Month and many of us are thinking about how to celebrate Black history, come to terms with the Black present and how to build equitable Black futures. 

The movement around Black History Month has become mainstream for many organizations. They put it on their calendar and are making a serious effort to elevate Black voices. 

However, every year, we also see some version of a social media post from a Black person who has been disrespectfully asked to speak, oftentimes with no compensation, no prior relationship to the organization, and a quick timeline.

So here’s how you can support and plan for Black History Month in a non-extractive way. 

Plan ahead

As with anything important, booking for Black History Month should not be done at the last minute. This is how we respectfully engage in relationships – unless there is a true emergency where someone just cancelled and you need a speaker, there’s no reason for this to be a last-minute request. 

Be in a relationship 

What kind of relationship does your organization have with the speakers or the people you would like to engage? What types of work have been done in your organization around DEI, specifically Anti-Black racism, and relationships with Black communities? Does your organization express solidarity with this community, or is this a date in your calendar?

If your organization has not done this work, but wants to, don’t fret – but do engage in the relationship a bit more thoughtfully. 

Compensation 

This can feel like a minefield, so we are going to help you navigate it. 

First: What is your budget? (if you don’t have a budget, skip down to ‘I don’t have a budget.’)

As with anyone we are requesting time, work and energy from, especially on a topic that requires emotional labour, compensation has to be part of the conversation. 

Second: Before you reach out to a potential speaker, consider your existing relationship with them. If you already know the person, the conversation will feel more natural — you’ll have shared context, familiarity, and an easier entry point. If you don’t know them yet, you’ll need to approach the conversation with more intention and gather some basic information first 

Third: Figure out appropriate compensation.  

• What are you asking the person to do? Do they need to be in person? If so, do they need to travel? Even if it’s just from their house to your office? What is the overall commitment you are asking from them? Map it out; even a simple lunch-and-learn can be a 3-5 hour commitment for someone with a significant commute.
• Online event? That’s a lesser lift, but same as above, map out the commitment of any prep conversations, the event. Do they need to take time off from another job or arrange child or elder care for their caring commitments?
• How involved is the engagement? If somebody is giving a keynote, or doing a presentation where they need to do prep, and you are expecting a certain level of ability from them, that is a larger request. They have to plan. Very good speakers oftentimes will ask you about your audience  as part of their work. Are you asking them to do a fireside where they sit down with someone from your team, or are they on a panel? Do they need to prep in order to answer questions? Is your team doing all of the project management and admin to make sure that those questions are given out ahead of time? Are the questions well within the scope of what that person does, or do they need to do research?
• What kind of emotional labour is required in the presentation? Are you asking them to relive trauma?? Reliving trauma is exhausting, emotional work. This should be reflected in their compensation.
• What is their core work? Is this person a professional speaker, a consultant or otherwise has a livelihood tied to their speaking? If so, this is how they make their income. This is not a side gig. We wouldn’t go to the grocery store or to the therapist’s office and expect goods and services for free. So in the same way, if this is the person’s job, then you cannot ask for free services. If the person works within your organization or is adjacent to it, you can talk to them about what fair compensation would be.
• Are attendees paying to attend the event? Is the event accessible to a wider community? If this is a paid, ticketed event or part of a paid membership experience, it especially makes sense to compensate the speaker. 

I don’t have a budget!

If your organization cannot afford it or has not set aside a budget for a speaker, the best option is to explore the thousands of resources already available online. 

For example, you could show a video of a phenomenal Black speaker, and then host a Q and A within or a circle conversation within your organization. That way, you are elevating Black voices and giving them exposure. 

If you don’t have a budget and you are a stable and/or wealthy organization, don’t ask a Black person to volunteer to educate your employees or members. Just don’t.

• Don’t ask for dry runs.  Asking for a ‘dry run’ from an accomplished speaker sounds like you are nervous about what they are going to say and it’s disrespectful for them to run through their presentation ahead of time for your comfort. If this is absolutely essential, make sure it is compensated.
• Don’t steal. If speakers bring slides or other resources, these belong to the speaker until you have been given explicit, and preferably written, permission to use it. 

Look for resources and voices of Black folks that already exist. Black History Month is an opportunity for us to elevate Black voices, so look for activities that are already happening. We have a list of resources below and send us more and we’ll update them as we get them! 

And finally, we’d like to close with an article that Future of Good published two years ago about the emotional labor and exhaustion of Black History Month. 

For Black folks, this is a heavy lift. We think it’s good for those of us who are allies to acknowledge and try to share the burden.

Resources:

QuakeLab’s Langauge Guide – I Don’t Want To Say The Wrong Thing…

QuakeLab’s 5 Ways to Use Your Professional Development Budget for DEI

SETSI’s Black Future’s Month – a free talk a day in February

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