Last week, Juneteenth National Independence Day became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983 – nearly four decades ago. The holiday commemorates the date – June 19, 1865 – when word of emancipation finally reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, Black Independence Day, or Jubilee Day, has been celebrated for decades by many and recently received added national attention after global protests in 2020 sparked a national conversation on addressing systemic racism.

As a values-driven organization, Samsung is actively strengthening our culture of inclusion with the goal of empowering every person in and outside our organization to defy barriers and build better futures, together. Our company’s observance of Juneteenth is an opportunity to reflect and have meaningful dialogues about the past, as well as work toward shaping a more equitable tomorrow.

Throughout June, Samsung’s Galaxy of Black Professionals (GBP) Employee Resource Group (ERG) shared educational material and hosted a series of events to provide a better understanding of the continuing Black liberation journey. Among the events were “The Influence of Your Dollar,” a talk on the spending power of the Black community with Keosha Burns, Executive Director and Senior Advisor on Community & Affordable Lending at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and “Defending the Vote,” a conversation on protecting voting rights and exercising the right to vote with City Council Candidates and Community Activists, Denise Francis Woods (Los Angeles, CA) and Dr. Baranda Fermin (Dallas, TX).

For the “Anti-racism and Allyship” discussion on turning compassion into everyday action in the workplace, host Chris Lezama, Director, TV Product Marketing Strategy and GBP ERG National Chair, and moderator Seth Brown, Senior Manager, Mobile B2B National Strategy and GBP ERG National Vice-Chair, were joined by panelists: Leroy Williams, Senior Vice President, Mobile Sales and GBP ERG Executive Sponsor; Richard Rosalez, Vice President, Legal Management and Unidos ERG Executive Sponsor; and Cameron Batten, Vice President, Corporate Communications and Samsung Equality Alliance (LGBTQ+) ERG Executive Sponsor.