Honoring the past to build a better future

New from McKinsey & Company

Black History Month is drawing to a close, but the challenge—and the urgency—of advancing racial equity remains. Our recent reads offer immediate actions that companies and leaders can take to build momentum toward system-level change. Plus, hear from McKinsey colleagues on what Black History Month means to them, and try your hand at this week’s new “Black History Memoirs” crossword.

Race in the workplace: The Black experience in the US private sector

Advancing racial equity in the workplace is a system-level challenge—ranging from the structural inequities of geography to underrepresentation in industries and jobs that could create additional opportunity to the behaviors of the workplace itself.

Read the full report

America 2021: The opportunity to advance racial equity

To America’s leaders, innovators, and changemakers: the task of building a more perfect society needs your help.

Drive inclusive growth

Author Talks: Michelle Duster on the legacy of Ida B. Wells

In a new book, Michelle Duster celebrates the life of Ida B. Wells, a journalist, suffragist, and antilynching crusader—and Duster’s great-grandmother.

Connect past and present

Investing in Black economic mobility

Racial equity and inclusive growth can drive economic mobility and a postpandemic recovery.

Listen to the podcast

Five Fifty: The color of wealth

The wealth gap between Black and white Americans is a primary force in racial inequality and social injustice. Here’s how to address it.

See the interactive

Building supportive ecosystems for Black-owned US businesses

The right business ecosystems can mitigate or negate the effects of structural obstacles to business building for Black business owners—and add $290 billion in business equity.

Close the gap

From the Blog: The artifacts of our Black History

Introducing the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility

Three colleagues on passing old family traditions onto a new generation

Three colleagues on defining Black Excellence

Three colleagues on living the dreams of their fathers

Learn about the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, which aims to inspire, empower, and sustain action that leads to the economic development of Black communities across the globe.

— Curated by Eleni Kostopoulos, a manager of digital publishing in New York

Follow our thinking

McKinsey Insights - Get our latest thinking on your iPhone, iPad, or Android