Celebrate Diversity and Inclusion with Us This June

In honor of Pride Month and Juneteenth, the Sono Bello team is excited to announce that our company will be both hosting and observing events promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

We’ve given our team members an additional day off of work so that they can go out and participate in the celebrations of pride and love taking place in their communities. We’ve even outfitted our team members with rainbow Sono Bello swag to wear in support of the LGBTQ community. 

In addition to Pride Month, June 19th (Juneteenth) is another special time of celebration and remembrance that we encourage our team and community members to observe this month. The holiday, also known as Freedom Day and Liberation Day, marks the date (June 19, 1865) when – nearly two whole years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 – American troops arrived in Texas to take control of the state and ensure the freeing of its 250,000 enslaved persons. U.S. General Gordon Granger famously read aloud to an assembly of Texans the contents of General Orders No. 3 which stated that “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” 

Although our country is still healing from the evils of slavery, this date, June 19, 1865, did mark the effective end of slavery as a legal institution in the United States. Therefore, this day, above all others, is most poignantly associated with emancipation and freedom. 

Juneteenth is a celebration. However, it’s also an opportunity for learning and re-thinking what we know about racism in America. To help our team and community members enhance their understanding of this complex issue, we’ve invited Jodi-Ann Burey (she/her) to speak at our Diversity & Inclusion Webinar.  

Jodi Ann Burey is a writer and activist whose mission is to disrupt “business as usual” in order to achieve social change. Her TED talk “The Myth of Bringing Your Full Authentic Self to Work” is a perfect example of how she is offering a new version of the traditional narratives about racism and positing her own unique, modern takes on the issue.  

Jodi Ann Burey’s full address to the Sono Bello community will be broadcast at Sono Bello locations nationwide. And in honor of the holiday, we’re asking all centers to cater lunch from a black-owned restaurant in their area.  

Thank you for reading. We hope that your June has been full of pride and happiness thus far. As always, if there’s anything we can do to help you live a more beautiful life, please contact us.