- June 19, or Juneteenth, is a day commemorating the effective end of slavery in the US.
- For Juneteenth, Lisa Ross, the US CEO of Edelman, gave her thoughts on the state of racial justice.
- The CEO said business leaders need to invest more in equity and change their business practices.
On June 19 last year, Lisa Ross, the US CEO of the public-relations powerhouse Edelman, penned her thoughts about Juneteenth, the national holiday marking the effective end of slavery in the US.
"It's nice that Congress came together to get something done," she wrote in a LinkedIn post, referring to the decision by lawmakers days earlier to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. "What's necessary, however, is for Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, for starters."
There was a sense of frustration to her words, a marked shift in tone from previous posts. Now, a year on, that sense of urgency might be here to stay for the woman who runs the US arm of the world's largest PR firm. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act became law in March, but Congress has yet to pass the other two bills. This year, Ross, who is Black, is renewing her calls on congressional leaders and business titans to advance racial justice in meaningful ways.
"My thoughts on the holiday haven't changed much since last year," she told Insider. "I, unfortunately, still see many brands continue to think of Juneteenth as a box to check."
"It's been two years since George Floyd's murder, but despite adding Juneteenth to the list of federal holidays, there hasn't been the real progress that our nation needs or deserves," she added.
Despite promises from corporations after Floyd's death in 2020, Ross said many companies are still engaging in surface-level commitments to racial equity. But at the same time, recent research from Edelman shows that most of the issues employees want their business leaders to take action on revolve around the idea of social justice. More than 52% of workers wanted leaders to do something about issues such as wage inequality, racism, and LGBTQ rights, Edelman found.
"Businesses, and CEOs specifically, are being called on to address our deepest structural challenges," Ross said.
More than 60% of Americans believed CEOs had "a responsibility to take a stand" on societal issues, according to a 2021 poll conducted by the nonprofit research firm Just Capital. And many Americans said there was more work to be done, especially when it came to paying sufficient wages for everyday workers.
To make a difference, companies shouldn't just rely on marketing campaigns or social-media posts. Instead, Ross said, companies should put money behind issues they care about, change their business practices, build a more representative workforce, and push for policy changes by government.
Days of celebration, such as Juneteenth, and commemorative months, such as Pride Month, Ross said, should spark long-term action.
She said, "They are a time to double down — tent poles in a larger, more comprehensive strategy, not opportunities to pick your head up after months of silence."