A Timeless Membership Month Question: Why Is BIG Still Relevant?
As we kick off our May 2023 BIG National Membership Month activities, I thought I would address a question that I have gotten over the years. Why is BIG still relevant? I am honestly not offended by the question since I see it as a great opportunity to discuss BIG’s history and purpose which, of course, laid the ground work for what we do today. So, is there still a need for BIG? The short answer is a resounding yes. But indulge me to give you a little context for my answer.
BIG was founded in 1975, the same year that the Vietnam War was ending. The country was in a recession and the overall unemployment rate was 9.2%. The unemployment rate was almost double that for African Americans. Job growth and advancement was stagnant across the board. But perhaps more importantly to set the stage for BIG’s establishment, we were not that far removed from major gains of the Civil Rights Movement, including passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which were still meeting resistance.
So, let's not be idealistic enough to think that our government was a model employer welcoming women and African Americans and giving them equal pay in 1975! Rather, it was indeed the opposite and BIG was necessary then to address the discrimination that African American public servants collectively faced. The founders knew that this discrimination could never be resolved individually one EEO case at a time. Through BIG’s humble beginnings with its five founders who staged sit-ins, protests, and demanded change with their agency officials, I can tell you that BIG has been addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion long before those terms were in vogue, long before the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was asking if employees felt valued through an annual employee viewpoint survey, and long before there was a Partnership for Public Service ranking agencies as the best places to work, including with regard to their diversity efforts.
Thankfully, the world has come a long way since 1975 as has our government which I do believe strives to be a model employer. So, just as the world has changed so has BIG. While, we do, of course, still have as our mission to create a level playing field so that all employees have an equal opportunity to advance, our advocacy is in partnership with our agencies and has a much broader perspective.
From career development training, mentoring, and networking for employees to youth scholarships and community outreach projects, BIG offers a wide array of programs and services. If you look on our chapter and regional websites around the country you will see monthly activities where BIG members are in the community at food pantries and serving tables. And, if you attend our National Training Institute (NTI) – which we are planning for August 28-31, 2023 at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, MD - you’ll find training beneficial to you regardless of your career path.
But, put aside the training, mentoring, networking, and community service projects that BIG offers and consider that it was just a couple of years ago that federal government efforts aimed at greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility were under attack. And, those efforts are still under attack in many state and local governments. So, even with all the things that BIG does to ensure that public servants have the tools they need to succeed individually, BIG is still on the front lines working hand in hand with our government agencies to implement President Biden’s Executive Order related to DEIA in the workplace. And, we are still working to ensure that employees know how to stand up for themselves individually when they need to.
So, I close by telling you if we are ever going to have that Beloved Community that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. espoused where “Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice are replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood”, then it will take each of us, and organizations like BIG, the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC), Federally Employed Women (FEW), National Image, the Society of American Indian Government Employees (SAIGE) and other employee resource groups working in tandem with our agencies to create a healthy workplace where diversity is valued not denigrated, where equity is a way of doing business not just a lofty goal, where inclusiveness triumphs over one upmanship, and where accessibility is more than a compliance afterthought.
Yes, Blacks In Government is still relevant and don’t you let anyone tell you otherwise.
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The column from Blacks In Government (BIG) is part of the FEDforum, an initiative to unite voices across the federal community. The FEDforum is a space for federal employee groups to share their organizations’ initiatives and activities with the FEDmanager audience.
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