Celebrating Black History Month and drawing strength from diversity

AT&T has maintained a commitment to advancing education, connecting and strengthening our communities and improving the lives of our customers and employees across Louisiana for nearly 140 years. An important part of strengthening the community is supporting and celebrating the contributions of the people who make our state and nation great. It is why we pause to observe Black History Month each year.

But, it is not enough to simply celebrate the past. It is important to contribute today to the future. AT&T has a strong legacy of working with organizations focused on empowering our diverse communities in Louisiana and across our nation, especially when it comes to education. AT&T believes that investing in education is one of the most important steps we can take to build for a strong future. We recognize academic disparities exist in many African American communities and strive to address this issue in part through our work with historically black colleges and universities.

Last year, AT&T’s support of Dillard University created new opportunities and added to the available resources for young women interested in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Our work with Southern University aimed to boost academic programing. A contribution to Xavier was set aside to fund scholarships for high achieving students in need of financial aid, preventing academic interruption for many future business and community leaders. And, 23 STEM scholarships at Grambling University were funded by an AT&T contribution. These are just a few of AT&T Louisiana’s efforts to help our youth attain their academic goals.

Our commitment to our most valuable resource – our people – is evident in AT&T’s diverse workforce and inclusive culture. African Americans make up 19.2 percent of our current U.S. workforce, which is why over the past five years, more than $175 million was contributed to organizations and directed to projects that strengthen the African American community through various AT&T giving programs.

AT&T’s very first Employee Resource Group (ERG) was created in 1969 and supports African American employees. Today, that first ERG, the Community NETwork for African American Telecommunication Professionals is comprised of more than 10,000 employees dedicated to creating opportunities, promoting achievement and addressing needs specific to the African American community and AT&T employees.

Louisiana is full of natural diversity. However, it is our cultural diversity and how we work together that makes our state great. As we celebrate Black History month and the immeasurable achievements of African Americans who have contributed to Louisiana’s rich heritage, let us look to our future and continue to draw strength by embracing diversity.

– Sonia Perez
President
AT&T Louisiana

This article originally published in the February 8, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.