How Retailers Are Celebrating Black History Month

Black History Month is in full swing and many retailers are doing some really interesting things to recognize and honor the achievements and excellence of Black Americans and their contributions throughout U.S. history. Here are just a few cool initiatives we’ve heard of:

• Last year, JCPenney launched Hope & Wonder™, a purpose-driven private-label brand of apparel, gifts, accessories and home products for everyone in the family to celebrate moments that matter. This year, JCPenney will donate 100 percent of net profits from Hope & Wonder’s Black History Month collection to Black Girls Smile, a nonprofit providing Black women and girls with education, resources and support to lead mentally healthy lives. Hope & Wonder’s Black History Month collection was created and curated in-house by JCPenney’s Creative Coalition, a team of BIPOC designers.
• Old Navy is partnering with three Black artists — Lo Harris, Temi Coker and Destiny Darcel — on its  latest collection of its Project WE tees, which feature powerful graphics from diverse artists to imagine a more inclusive world through art. Additionally, Old Navy is donating $50,000 to the Fifteen Percent Pledge in continued support of its work to advance racial and economic equity for the Black community.
• Meijer introduced a special Black History Month collection of products featuring the art of Black Midwestern artists. The collection includes a mix of paintings and digital art printed on decorative pillows, stationery, gift bags, canvas tote bags, key rings, kitchen towels and throw blankets, featuring the three winning pieces of art. In addition, to further support its ongoing DEI journey, Meijer is donating 5 percent of the sales generated from this art collection to Urban Leagues in the artists’ states — the Urban League of West Michigan and the Indianapolis Urban League.
• Levi Strauss & Co. is celebrating Black joy and putting a spotlight on the many untold stories to inspire and uplift Black culture this month. To kick-start the month, Project Onyx, LS&Co.’s Black employee resource group, met with Dr. Ameer Hasan Loggins — a graduate of UC Berkeley with a Ph.D. in African American studies and a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University — and employees globally to discuss Black consciousness and Black love. The discussion explored the role of consciousness and love in living in liberation.
• Ikea U.S. is recognizing the contributions of its Black coworkers by amplifying their stories on social media. In addition, Ikea announced that by 2027,  its goal is for each business unit in the U.S. to reflect the ethnic and racial demographics of their local environment at every level of leadership.