Black History Month events celebrate diversity

A parade of flags to represent the diversity of the African diaspora. A virtual event highlighting Black leaders and innovators. A booklet on Black history, culture and cuisine.

Phillips 66 employees across the company are celebrating Black History Month in a variety of ways.

In a procession set for February 24 in Bartlesville, Okla., employees will carry the flags representing their home countries and the diversity of the African diaspora. The flags — including the green and white of Nigeria, the red, yellow and green of Ghana, and the red, white and blue of the United States — will hang in an auditorium at the Phillips 66 Energy Research & Innovation Center.

Junior Wright, a lab technician at the center, will carry the flag of his native Jamaica.

“I am so far from Jamaica, yet the atmosphere has been created where I can feel as if I'm home,” said Wright, who has worked at Phillips 66 since 2014 and is vice president of the Bartlesville chapter of the company’s Black Employee Network.

The flag presentation event will also feature Oklahoma State University chemistry professor Toby Nelson speaking on the history of black chemists and chemical engineers.

Elsewhere across the company:

• Celebrating history: The Phillips 66 Inclusion and Diversity team in partnership with BEN is hosting a virtual event on February 28 where participants solve jigsaw puzzles, crosswords and fill-in-the-blanks to learn about interesting people and events in Black American history.
• Remembering the past: Bartlesville BEN is organizing employee tours of Greenwood Rising, a center in Tulsa that honors the victims and survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst acts of racial violence in U.S. history. Phillips 66 donated $250,000 in 2021 to support the center.
• Sharing knowledge: San Francisco BEN put together an educational booklet on Black history, culture and cuisine.

“Phillips 66 values the rich diversity of our employees and is proud to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to history, science, art, politics and culture,” said Natacha Buchanan, Director of Inclusion and Diversity. “We know and believe that diverse experiences and the accomplishments of all make us stronger.”