Black Business Resource Group looks to history while forging an inspirational path
In honor of Black History Month, the Black Business Resource Group at Driven Brands used its February meeting to reflect on how Black History shapes lives – past, present, and future.
You must move confidently into the future with an acknowledgement of the past.
That was a main theme of this month’s meeting of the Black Business Resource Group, an employee-led organization within Take 5 Car Wash at Driven Brands, which dedicated its February gathering to an exploration of what Black History Month means for group members and their communities.
Members shared brief history lessons, words of wisdom, and personal observations as the group honored February’s month-long reflection on the significance of the many individuals, milestones, and challenges that have shaped black history over the years.
An inspirational highlight of the meeting was an appreciation of the life of Shirley Chisholm, who was elected as the first black woman to the United States Congress in 1968, and who battled racism and assassination attempts during her run for the 1972 Democratic nomination for president – she was both the first woman to seek the Democratic nomination and the first African American candidate for any major-party nomination. By the time of her death in 2005, Chisholm had received over 40 honorary doctorates in recognition of her trailblazing work in government and society.
Chisholm’s story, the group acknowledged, is one of determination in the face of resistance. She’s famous for saying: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
But for every success story like Chisholm’s, there have been setbacks, as well. One member reminded the group that black voting participation and representation flourished in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Mississippi elected a black senator, and many black congressmen were elected – many of them former slaves – yet these gains were quickly rolled back under Jim Crow.
The result was a generations-long gap in representation. Rights gained and claimed in the 1870s had to be fought for all over again in the 1960s. Black BRG members reflected on major 20th-century civil rights triumphs (and tragedies) such as the Brown v. Board of Education court decision, the Freedom Rides activism of 1961, and the killing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In keeping with the open, supportive environment that the Black BRG fosters, members shared their thoughts on what black history means to them and how they are paying it forward within their communities.
One member saw Black History Month as “a time to celebrate ourselves and reflect on the people who paved the way before us.” Another member said that Black History Month means awareness – worth raising in February, of course – but not forgetting that Black history is something that exists 12 months out of the year. As another group member put it, “History is being made every day. Black history is American history. Black history is world history.”
Members encouraged one another to bring new coworkers to the group and to use the group’s internal communications channel to share insights and inspirational messages in between monthly meetings.
This dedication to nurturing the organization and its membership is exactly what Black BRG founder Garrison Miller had in mind when the group was formed in January 2022. He sees the Black BRG as a garden, a place and people to invest both personal and professional resources in, planting seeds and letting them grow so that the group – and the positive effects it creates – can “spread abundantly.”
Members of the group are taking those positive effects with them. One member talked about performing volunteer work with his local Boys and Girls Club, where he sees his role with the kids – especially those who are at-risk – as that of mentor and historian.
Together with other Business Resource Groups – the Black BRG seeks to create a supportive, empowering space for employees both within and across identity groups. To this end, the Black BRG is committed to shining a light of positivity and awareness not only during Black History Month, but year-round.
Appropriately, the Black BRG February meeting closed on a powerful message from Martin Luther King, who said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”