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Purpose
Overwhelming evidence suggests that black lives have not and do not matter in the American workplace. In fact, disturbing themes of black labor dehumanization, exploitation and racial discrimination appear throughout history into the present-day workplace. Yet, curiously, organizations and organizational scholars largely ignore how racism and slavery have informed management practice (Cooke, 2003) and contemporary workplace racism. The authors address this gap, using the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement as a platform. BLM is a social justice movement created in response to the pervasive racism experienced by black people. The purpose of this paper is to accomplish five goals, which are summarized in the following sections.


Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors outline historical themes of black labor dehumanization, exploitation and racial discrimination, providing specific examples to illustrate these themes and discussing their contemporary workplace implications. Second, key challenges that may arise as organizations seek to make black lives matter in the workplace are discussed. Third, the authors provide examples of organizations where black lives have mattered as an inspiration for how workplaces can affirm the humanity and self-actualization of black people.


Findings
Fourth, the authors provide organizations with helpful tools to truly make black lives matter in the workplace, using restorative justice as a framework to remedy workplace racism. Finally, while the paper is largely focused on business organizations, as two management scholars, the authors felt compelled to briefly articulate how academic scholarship might be influenced if black lives truly mattered in management scholarship and management education.


Originality/value
This paper begins to articulate how black lives matter in the workplace. The goal is to intervene and upend the exploitation of black workers so that they are finally recognized for their worth and value and treated as such. The authors have provided historical context to illustrate that contemporary workplace racism is rooted in the historical exploitation of black people from enslavement to contemporary instances of labor exploitation. The authors offer a restorative justice framework as a mechanism to redress workplace racism, being careful to outline key challenges with implementing the framework. The authors concluded with steps that organizations may consider as they work to repair the harm of workplace racism and rebuild trust amongst employees. Specifically, the authors discuss the benefits of organizational interventions that provide intergroup contact with an emphasis on perspective taking, and present a case example and suggested key indicators that black lives matter in today's workplace.

Research on the business case for diversity suggests that organizations may gain important advantages by employing individuals from minority identity groups—those that are historically underrepresented and lower status—such as distinctive perspectives and greater access to minority customers and constituents. Organizations' ability to capitalize on the promises of diversity ultimately depends on minority employees' willingness and ability to draw on their distinctive strengths at work. However, little research has explored how employees perceive and act on potential advantages associated with their minority identity at work. Addressing this gap, we draw on in-depth interviews with 47 racial minority (31 Asian American and 16 African American) journalists to develop a conceptual framework of the process of identity mobilization—the steps through which individuals can deliberately draw on or leverage their minority cultural identity as a source of advantage at work and how this process is sustained or disrupted over time. The framework includes four different pathways through which individuals can leverage their minority identity to facilitate progress toward work-related goals and four identity mobilization tensions that can disrupt the identity mobilization process. Our research has significant implications for theory and practice related to diversity, identity, and positive organizational scholarship. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2018.1272 .

Foreword: Race in organizations: often cloaked but always present / by Ella L. J. Edmondson Bell and Stella M. Nkomo -- Why a volume on race, work, and leadership? / by Laura Morgan Roberts, Anthony J. Mayo, and Serenity Lee -- Section I. History and critical questions in black business leadership: A case study of leading change: the founders of Harvard Business School's African American student union / by Henry Louis Gates, Jr -- Pathways to leadership: black graduates of Harvard Business School / by Anthony J. Mayo and Laura Morgan Roberts -- Commentaries: The struggle is real: black colleges, resources, and respect / by Melissa E. Wooten -- Back to the future: a strategy for studying racism in organizations / by Arthur P. Brief -- Intersectionality and the careers of black women lawyers: results from the Harvard Law School Black Alumni Survey / by David B. Wilkins and Bryon Fong -- Section II. Comparative studies: Workplace engagement and the glass ceiling: the experience of black professionals / by Ella Washington, Ellyn Bass, & Shane McFeely -- Authenticity in the workplace: an African American perspective / by Patricia Faison Hewlin & Anna-Maria Broomes -- Feeling connected: the importance of engagement, authenticity, and relationships in the careers of diverse professionals / by Stacy Blake-Beard, Laura Morgan Roberts, Beverly Edgehill, & Ella Washington -- Section III. Phenomenological studies: the lived experience: Views from the other side: black professionals perceptions of diversity management / by Adia Harvey Wingfield -- Overcoming barriers to developing and retaining diverse talent in healthcare professions / by Laura Morgan Roberts, Stacy Blake-Beard, Stephanie Creary, Beverly Edgehill and Sakshi Ghai -- From c-suite to start-ups: an illusion of inclusion / by Toigo Foundation (Nancy Sims, Sue Toigo, Maura Allen & Toni Cornelius) -- Rough waters of resistance: black instructional coaches impacted by implicit bias / by Michelle Smith Macchia & Kisha Porcher -- A million gray areas: how two friends crossed paths professionally and personally and mutually enhanced their understanding of relationships of race, gender, class and power / by Kathryn Fraser and Karen Samuels -- African American women as change agents in the white academy: pivoting the margin via grounded theory / by Muriel E. Shockley and Elizabeth L. Holloway -- The transformational impact of black women/womanist theologians leading intergroup dialogue in liberation work of the oppressed and the oppressor / by Tawana Davis -- Psychodynamics of black authority - sentience and sellouts: ol' skool civil rights and woke Black Lives Matter / by Diane Forbes Berthoud, Flora Taylor, and Zachary Green -- Section IV. Theorizing black leadership: Is D&I about us?: how inclusion practices undermine black advancement and how to design for real inclusion / by Valerie Purdie-Greenaway & Martin N. Davidson -- The glass cliff: African American CEOs as crisis leaders / by Lynn Perry Wooten & Erika Hayes James -- When black leaders leave: costs and consequences / by Kecia Thomas, Aspen J. Robinson, Laura Provolt, and B. Lindsay Brown -- Blacks leading whites: how mutual and dual (ingroup and outgroup) identification affect inequality / by Lumumba Seegars and Lakshmi Ramarajan -- Managing diversity, managing blackness?: an intersectional critique of diversity management practices / by Courtney L. McCluney & Verónica Caridad Rabelo -- Uncovering the hidden face of affinity fraud: race-based predatory bias, social identity and the need for inclusive leadership / by Audrey Murrell, Ray Jones, & Jennifer Petrie -- Section V. The future: lessons for the next generation of leaders: Ujima: lifting as we climb to develop the next generation of African American leaders / by Lynn Wooten, Shannon Polk, and Whitney Williams -- Conclusion: Intersection of race, work, and leadership: lessons in advancing black leaders / by Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo.

PurposeBlack people, as members of a historically underrepresented and marginalized racial identity group in the workplace, are often confronted with identity references – face-to-face encounters in which their race is referenced by a White colleague in a comment, question or joke. Identity references can be interpreted by a Black colleague in a variety of ways (e.g. as hostile and insulting or well-intentioned, even flattering). Identity references can derail the building of relationships across difference, but under certain conditions may open the door for deeper understanding and connection. The conceptual framework in this article delineates conditions under which an identity reference may elicit an initial negative reaction, yet, when engaged directly, may lead to generative experiences and promote higher connection and learning in relationships across difference.Design/methodology/approachThis article builds theory on identity references by incorporating relevant research on race, identity, diversity, attribution and interpersonal relationships at work.FindingsThe framework identifies a common precursor to identity references and three factors that are likely to influence the attribution a Black person makes for a White colleague's identity reference. It then describes how, based on that attribution, a Black person is likely to respond to the White referencer, and how that response is likely to affect their interpersonal relationship over time.Originality/valueBy explicating how a single identity reference can have significant implications for relationships across difference, the framework deepens understanding of how race affects the development of interpersonal relationships between Black and White colleagues at work. In doing so, this article advances research on race, diversity, workplace relationships and positive organizational scholarship.

Make yourself heard. When women we admire such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg advised, "Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes" and Vice President Kamala Harris has to remind a room full of men, "I'm speaking," it can feel as though having our own voices heard at work is a lost cause. Whether we're confronting a colleague about an inappropriate comment or trying to avoid being talked over (again!) by a male colleague, we can find ways to have our voices heard at work. Speak Up, Speak Out helps readers use their voices more effectively to raise issues large and small. From addressing sexual harassment to handling microagressions to breaking through subconscious gendered conversational patterns, you'll find research, advice, and practical tips to help you move forward. This book will inspire you to: Prepare for the most common scenarios you'll encounter Address and redirect an inappropriate conversation Step in when you witness questionable behavior Break ingrained conversational habits like apologizing and complimenting Deal with interrupters and overspeakers Know when to engage--and how to respond The HBR Women at Work series spotlights the real challenges and opportunities women experience throughout their careers. With interviews from the popular podcast of the same name and related articles, stories, and research, these books provide inspiration and advice for taking on topics at work like inequity, advancement, and building community. Featuring detailed discussion guides, this series will help you spark important conversations about where we're at and how to move forward.

Executive Summary (from article): While there's plenty of rhetoric about how we're all in the Covid-19 pandemic together, the fallout clearly shows that we are not in the same boat. The direct impact on Black and brown communities in the U.S. is staggering, both from a physical and mental health perspective. Employers can help support their employees of color and their communities in three key ways: on the individual level, by asking specific questions about how to provide support and making room for people to care for themselves; on the organizational level, by setting up communication, hiring, and benefits systems that support employees of color; and on the societal level, by focusing corporate giving and political action toward communities of color. ; https://hbr.org/2020/05/how-u-s-companies-can-support-employees-of-color-through-the-pandemic