Instacart Celebrates Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, Nightshades — Instacart’s Black employee resource group (ERG) — hosted a series of programs and events for community members and allies. The events, which were held throughout the month of February, were anchored in recognizing and honoring the successes of Black culture in food, tech, and music as well as uniting the community. Read below for highlights of the month-long festivities.

Company Meeting

At the start of the month, we kicked off celebrations with a special presentation at our company meeting. Nightshades leaders led a conversation around why we’re celebrating Black History Month and how members and allies alike could participate in the activities. The presentation also highlighted Black innovators in food including renowned chef and author Edna Lewis, vegan ego-chef and food justice activist Bryant Terry, and award-winning chef JJ Johnson.

Black Unity Day

As a way to recognize Unity and Solidarity, Nightshades organized “Take a Knee Tuesday” for community members and allies. Across offices and in the field, employees and shoppers were invited to participate by rocking, “All Black, Everything.”

Keep Ya Head Up Day

Later in the month, Nightshades also hosted “Keep Ya Head Up” day, where members of the community honored their unique heritage by wearing their favorite head wrap or covering. Employees were also invited to participate in head-wrapping tutorials.

When asked about her head wrap, Nightshades co-lead Stephanie H. states, “It’s more than a piece of material or fabric. It’s a signification of courage, culture, creativity, and confidence. We wear our head wraps and coverings, with a heart full of love and a genuine desire to be true to ourselves while honoring the strength and endurance of our ancestors.”

Instacart Serves x Nightshades

To wrap up the month, Instacart Serves — our social impact program — partnered with Nightshades to support communities during Black History Month. Together, we proudly made a donation to The Hidden Genius Project, a non-profit founded by five black male entrepreneurs and technologists who work to connect young black males with the skills and mentors needed to become high-performing entrepreneurs and technologists. You can learn more about The Hidden Genius Project here and also make a donation if you’d like.

Thank you to our Nightshades community members and allies for celebrating Black History Month with us!

Instacart

Author

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.