Saluting the Black family throughout Black History Month

The following was authored by Carolyn Butler-Lee, Executive Director, Global Strategy - Diversity & Inclusion, Cummins Inc. 

When I hear the word family, I think about my husband Larry of 32 years and our 20-year-old son Solomon. I think about my mother who cherishes her garden and my father, a strong provider, who passed away 25 years ago. I think about my six siblings who are dispersed throughout the country. I think about my aunts and uncles who defy aging. I think about my gazillion cousins, nieces and nephews who make family reunions memorable.

This is my family.

For Black History Month this year, Cummins Black Network (CBN) – our Employee Resource Group (ERG) – adopted the national theme, "The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity."  This theme sparked me to humbly smile about my family – the potent ingredient that makes me who I am and who I can become. Unconditional love and unwavering loyalty define us.

That is my family. 

When I hear the word family, I also think more broadly about the Black American Family - proud, determined, resilient and challenged. The Black Family in America has suffered tremendously since slavery when families were first torn apart in Africa only to be further torn apart in America when repeatedly sold or traded. Today, over 150 years after emancipation, the Black family faces many struggles, lagging other racial and ethnic groups with respect to home ownership, health, education, wealth and employment, and outpacing others with respect to racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

My collective family struggles.

The Black Family persists even still. While it has taken on many new forms and shapes, the Black family has made more than due with what little has been provided, pivoting as needed to land further than projected.

Descendants of slaves have become leaders in every sector. Women-led households have nurtured presidents and vice presidents at the highest level. They also take care of home when Black men are incarcerated at rates significantly higher than all other groups. And this woman, two generations removed from enslavement, one of seven children, raised in a two-parent home in Milwaukee, stands tall today as a leader responsible for championing diversity, equity and inclusion for a global power company. I gain strength from my brave and courageous ancestors who survived unimaginable odds and created a foundation for me to thrive today.

My family has persevered. 

To celebrate Black History Month this year, I encourage you to honor your colleagues, your friends and your neighbors who make up Black Families. They are both deserving of our recognition for the past they have endured and of our support for their present and future contributions to our company, the communities we operate in and society.

This is what families do.