Delayed Communication: Who's Still Waiting?

ConnexFM
5 hours ago
4 min read

Pre-Header: Juneteenth invites facilities professionals to examine how access, awareness, communication, and belonging show up in every community they serve.

by Sherry Darden | DEI Committee Consultant, ConnexFM

Imagine life-changing news existed — news that would affect a person’s family, future, safety, income, and choices — but the people who had that news did not share it. Not for a day. Not for a week. For more than two years. That is part of the story of Juneteenth.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced that enslaved people were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had already been signed. The law had changed, but the people who needed that information most were among the last to receive it. That history should make today’s leaders pause.

Juneteenth is not only about delayed freedom. It is about delayed information, delayed access, delayed dignity, and delayed inclusion. And that delay has never been limited to a single cause. People are left out for varied reasons — race, ethnicity, gender, language, where they sit on the org chart, or even whether they work on the frontlines or in executive leadership. In facilities environments, that exclusion can show up in something as critical as safety protocols or compliance information that never makes it from leadership down to the people who need it most.

It raises a question that still matters in every workplace today: Who is still waiting for something that should have already reached them?

More Than a Holiday

Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, and it is absolutely a day of celebration. It is also a day of reflection. Freedom on paper does not always mean freedom in practice. Progress can exist in one place while people somewhere else are still being left out. Information has power — and access to that information shapes opportunity.

That matters in facilities management because facilities are not just buildings. They are human spaces — places where people receive healthcare, report to work, shop, gather, and interact with organizations that are part of their daily lives. Every facility sits inside a community. Every community carries its own story of pride, progress, exclusion, and delayed access. Facilities professionals may not own that history, but awareness of it matters.

That awareness has real, practical impact. When people feel seen, heard, and respected in the spaces where they work and gather, trust strengthens, communication improves, and environments become safer. Safety is not only about equipment or compliance checklists. It is also about whether people feel comfortable speaking up, reporting concerns, and sharing what they notice before small issues become larger ones.

Progress and Struggle Can Coexist

Progress and struggle can exist at the same time. A company can have a diversity statement and still have employees who do not feel heard. A workplace can have the right policies and still overlook people for real opportunity. A business can serve a community for years and still not fully understand the people inside it.

That is why diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is a practice — not a statement to post once a year. It is the ongoing work of noticing who is present, who is missing, who has access, who has influence, and who may be affected by decisions but never included in the conversation. It is not about taking someone’s seat at the table. It is about making room for others to sit there — and making sure they have the information, access, and voice needed once they arrive.

Bias Did Not Disappear — It Adapted

Today, bias shows up in quieter ways than it once did. It lives in systems, habits, assumptions, hiring decisions, vendor relationships, and even in technology. Artificial intelligence is a clear example. Open any AI image generator and enter: “Generate a professional image of a middle-aged Black woman.” Note the setting, the clothing, the expression. Does the result suggest a decision-maker or a support role? A boardroom or a break room? Then enter: “Generate a professional image of a middle-aged white woman.” Ask the same questions. Sit with what comes back.

The point is not to fault the tool. It is to notice what the tool reflects. AI learns from human-generated content, and that content carries centuries of human assumption and bias. The machine repeats what it was taught. That same reflection applies inside every organization — to who receives information clearly and on time, to whether frontline workers feel as informed as those in the executive suite, and to whether teams have the plain, honest, respectful conversations that keep small problems from becoming larger ones.

Every Location. Every Community.

A building may be measured in square footage, but its impact is measured in human experience. The way people communicate inside that building shapes whether employees feel heard, whether customers feel respected, whether vendors feel valued, and whether communities feel seen.

Juneteenth reminds leaders that delayed freedom was not just about time. It was about power. Who had the information? Who controlled the message? Who benefited from silence? Those are still useful questions today — not questions of blame, but questions of awareness, responsibility, and better decision-making.

A Closing Thought

To continue the conversation and access resources for building inclusive cultures, visit the ConnexFM DEI Committee page.

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About the Author: Sherry Darden is a DEI consultant, executive coach, and founder of Sherry Darden Coaching & Consulting. She serves as a consultant to the ConnexFM DEI Committee. You can reach out to Sherry Darden about this topic and more at www.sherrydarden.com.