The CultureBeat® PULSE is an e-zine to keep you on the “pulse” of what’s relevant to today’s multicultural consumers. Each issue is a curated group of topics that focus on the happenings in our society and marketplace and, most importantly, why it matters to your brand and your company. 
In this issue of the CultureBeat® PULSE, we celebrate Pride Month and spotlight cultural inclusion. You'll read:
 

Teens wearing rainbow backpacks, matching hats, and glittery feather boas in support of their best friends at a Pride Parade. A group of friends wearing traditional cholis and saris, who are learning dance steps for garba-raas and attending Navaratri festivals together. Strategies to celebrate inclusion— instead of just celebrating diversity—are on the rise, and we’ll explore a few examples in this piece.

The current administration, through the commerce secretary, the overseer of the Census Bureau, has proposed the inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. The question would directly ask the U.S. citizenship status of everyone living in the nation (to be precise, it would ask, "is this person a citizen of the United States?”). The proposition has been challenged in court, and a definitive ruling on the issue has not been made; however, from a business perspective, there are advantages to avoiding asking a citizenship question.

LGBTQ—it’s a lot of letters to remember, but it actually has fewer syllables than “heterosexual.” It may seem overwhelming to see those letters pile up, and it seems that the order or the number of letters keeps changing, but it’s all with good reason. The term LGBTQ is meant to represent an incredibly diverse and multicultural group of people, with each letter standing for one of many identities; so, there’s a lot packed into them! Those letters have a big job to do!

Two hundred times. That’s how many times I had to write the word “hasta” (“to” or “until” in English) in first grade so that I’d remember a silent H is its first letter. My mother made me do it (multiple times) so that I would later write and spell properly in Spanish and so that it wouldn’t be confused with “asta” which means “pole” (as in what you find holding a U.S. flag). I dreaded it then, but I thank her now for her tenacity—ensuring I learned and respected the language that became the vehicle to express our love for each other.

It seems like everyone’s getting their DNA ancestry tested now, and how we define ourselves has become so much more intricate. Identity goes beyond one’s ethnicity and race, it can be multidimensional, and that is more evident now than ever before. With the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall celebrated in June and LGBTQ rights at the forefront of America’s shifting landscape, minorities are becoming the majority in an ever-changing country.

The CultureBeat^® PULSE is an e-zine to keep you on the “pulse” of what’s relevant to today’s multicultural consumers. Each issue is a curated group of topics that focus on the happenings in our society and marketplace and, most importantly, why it matters to your brand and your company. 

Throughout June, rainbows are showing up everywhere – from online retailers to big box brands, and restaurant menus – as brands show their support for the LGBTQ community.