Diversity holidays and monthly themes are essential for respectful scheduling, and also provide a great opportunity for inclusion, and shout outs to diverse groups. Here’s our 2019 Diversity Calendar, compiled from our year-long interactive online diversity calendar.
According to a study by Harvard University, diversity training usually fails unless awareness and inclusion is a daily practice. So be sure to incorporate these events into your calendar workplace.
January 2019 Diversity Events
1/1 – Black American: Emancipation Proclamation
1/4 – People With Disabilities: – Louis Braille
1/8 -People With Disabilities: Stephen Hawking – paralyzed most of his life, became one of most influential physicists of all time
1/15 – Black American Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
1/26 Ellen DeGeneres – done more to influence Americans’ attitudes about gay rights than any other celebrity or public figure, according to a 2015 poll by Variety. In 2016, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
1/27 – Jewish: International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
1/29 – Women, Black American: Oprah Winfrey – rank her as the most influential woman in the world, media pioneer, wealthiest black American
February Holidays
Black History Month, every year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History sets a theme for that year’s celebration
2/3 – LGBT: Gertrude Stein, birthday of the most celebrated lesbian author of the early 20th century
2/5 – Chinese New Year – beginning of a three-day celebration launching the Chinese new year 4717 (The Year of the Pig)
2/15 – Hindu: Parinirvana or Nirvana Day – marks the death of Buddha in 483 B.C.E. and commemorates his attainment nirvana
2/15 – Women: Susan B, Anthony – women’s rights activist, leader of the movement to give women the right to vote
2/21 – Black: Barbara Jordan – first Black woman elected to the Texas State Senate
March 2019 Diversity Calendar
Women’s History Month – honors the accomplishments of women, celebrated in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia
3/6 – Christian: Ash Wednesday – beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting preceding Easter Sunday
3/10: Black American – Harriet Tubman leading abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape to freedom
3/14: Jewish German American: Albert Einstein – leading theoretical physicist of the 20th century
3/17 – Irish: St Patrick’s Day – honors Ireland’s patron saint, who brought Christianity to Ireland
3/21 – Hindu: Holi – celebrates the coming of spring in India and harvest of winter crop
3/31: Mexican American – Cesar Chavez – social justice activist, combatted poverty and discrimination suffered by Mexicans and Mexican Americans
Get more information on diversity holidays for March 2019
April Multicultural Events
4/4 Maya Angelou – writer and renaissance woman, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor
4/6 – Scottish American: Tartan Day celebrates Scottish Americans role in the founding of the United States, and contributions by people of Scottish ancestry
4/8 Buddhist: Buddha’s Birth – April 8 – founder of Buddhism, the largest religion in Asia, and has also attracted followers in the West
4/19 Jewish: Passover begins – marks the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, begins previous evening with a Seder or meal
4/21 – Christian: Easter – one of the most important holiday days in the world’s largest religion, celebrates the resurrection of Jesus
4/21: Cancer Survivor: David Servan-Schreiber given 6 months to live with brain cancer, he survived 15 years, as documented in books such as Anticancer: A New Way of Life
4/25 Native American: Gathering of Nations – largest powwow in North America, 3-day with more than 500 tribes celebrating Native American culture
May Heritage Months
Jewish American Heritage Month – celebrate rich history of Jewish people in America and contributions they’ve made
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – Older Americans Month – presidential proclamation to honor the contributions of older Americans to society
5/4 – LGBT: Keith Harring – his art to supported campaigns for AIDS awareness and created the Keith Haring Foundation
5/5 – Mexican American: Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican defeat of French army, celebrated primarily among Mexican-Americans
5/6 – Islamic: Ramadan – first day of Ramadan, holiest month of the Muslim year. During this month, no water or food may be taken from sunrise to sunset
5/19 – Black American: Malcolm X – human rights activist, founder of Organization of Afro-American Unity
5/27 – Jewish: Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust – date varies – Eight t-day-long observance remembrance of the Holocaust victims
June 2019 Diversity
LGBT Pride Month an International Pride Theme is chosen at the InterPride Annual Conference
6/1 – Mormon: Brigham Young religious leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
6/2 – Native Americans: Granting of citizenship to American Indians
6/9 – Puerto Rican: Puerto Rican Day Parade Major cities have held parades to celebrate the contributions of the Puerto Rican people
6/12 – Jewish Dutch: Anne Frank wrote the most widely read of all personal accounts of the Holocaust
6/19 – Black American: Juneteenth and a time for various celebrations in African American communities commemorates emancipation of slaves in Texas
6/27: People With Disabilities: Helen Keller deaf and blind, she devoted her life to social activism, for people with disabilities
6/28 – LGBT – Stonewall Rebellion – remembers the first organized effort in the United States by gays and lesbians to openly gain equality under the law
July 2019 Inclusion Events
7/2 – Black American: Thurgood Marshall civil rights leader and Supreme Court justice, including 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, which ended racial segregation in public schools
7/6 – Tibetan: 14th Dalai Lama leader in exile of Tibetans, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
7/6 – Woman, Mexican: Frida Kahlo – one of the most iconic painters of the first half of the 20th century
7/14 – France: Bastille Day celebrates the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and the eventual end of monarchical rule
7/18 – South African: Nelson Mandela anti-apartheid activist and first black president of South Africa
7/26 – Americans with Disabilities Act protects people with disabilities from discrimination
7/31 – Jewish American – Milton Friedman one of the most influential economists of the twentieth century
August Multicultural Holidays
8/8 – Mexican: Emiliano Zapata revolutionary leader, devoted to democratic ideals and economic justice for the poor
8/15 – Roman Catholic: Feast of the Assumption celebrates the belief by Roman Catholics in Mary’s assumption to heaven
8/9 – Islamic The Hajj Annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Muslims who are able are required to make the pilgrimage at least once
8/20 – Chinese American: Rose Hum Lee Educator and writer, produced pioneering studies of Chinese-Americans in the United States
8/25 – Jewish American: Leonard Bernstein Conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher: legendary figure in American classical music
8/26 – Women’s Equality Day
8/31 Islamic: Al-Hijra (New Year) 8/31 Begins the new year 1440 based on the Islamic lunar calendar
September 2019 Calendar
National Hispanic Heritage Month (9-15 to 10/15) National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers and the Hispanic Foundation select a theme for the month
9/2 Hindu: Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrate in honour of the elephant-headed God
9/5 – Native American(Oglala Sioux) : Tashunka Witko Crazy Horse
9/29 Jewish: Rosh Hashanah Begins the Jewish New Year 5780, and period of reflection about past year and year to come
9/23 – Autumnal Equinox
9/25 – People With Disabilities: Christopher Reeve Actor, paralyzed by horse fall. an advocate for research on healing spinal cord injuries
October Diversity Month
Global Diversity Awareness Month Promotes understanding of differing cultural perspectives
National Disability Employment Awareness Month Enhance public awareness of people with disabilities and encourage their full integration into the work force
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Italian American Heritage Month
10/2 – India : Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday (Gandhi Jayanti) Honors the leader of the Indian struggle for independence
10/6 – United States : German American Heritage Day
106 – Black American: Fannie Lou Hamer Civil rights leader, one one of the first Black Americans to register to vote
10/27 – Hindu: Diwali One of the most important festivals of the year for Hindus, celebrates different gods and goddesses
November 2019 Calendar
Native American Heritage Month
11/2 – Mexico : Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) Rooted in two traditions: the Christian observance of All Saints and All Souls Day, and two Aztec festivals of souls of the dead
11/1 – LGBT+ : Tim Cook First openly-gay Fortune 500 CEO
11/16 – Dutch American Heritage Day
11/18 – Hispanic American: Roberto Goizueta First Hispanic CEO of a Fortune 500 company
11/20 – LGBT : Transgender Day of Remembrance
11/9-11/10 Islamic : Mawlid (Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday)
11/30 – Black American: Shirley Chisholm first Black American woman elected to the U.S. Congress
December Multicultural Holidays
12/1 – World AIDS Day
12/12 – Italian American: Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) First modern popular superstar with career spanning more than 50 years
12/12 – Mexico: Fiesta de Guadalupe Feast day of the patron saint of Mexico
12/21 – Pagan and Wiccan : Yule begins at sundown
12/22 – Jewish – Hanukkah (12/22-12/30) Commemorates the Jewish victory over Syrian Greeks in 165 B.C.E., restoring Jewish independence
12/25 – Christian: Christmas Celebrates the birth of Jesus
12/26 – Black: Kwanzaa (12/26-1/1) Inspired by harvest festivals in Africa
Get a head start on next year, when you enjoy our 2020 Diversity Calendar. Also be sure to check out our Inclusive Religious Calendar of Holy Days in 2020.