Mr. Floyd’s murder was an act of police brutality. Importantly, the ensuing movement for racial equity also focused on the economic and other brutality Black Americans have endured for over 400 years, often at the hands of business. June 2020 was a period of intense soul searching at HBS. In conversations on race in mid-June and beyond, community members made it resoundingly clear that they felt the School had failed to do all it could and should have done to welcome and advance Black talent, advance knowledge related to race, educate students about racism and anti-racism, and engage the business community in change efforts. The School needed a new action plan.

Toward this end, Dean Nitin Nohria invited a group of 25 faculty, staff, students, and alumni to form the Dean’s Anti-Racism Task Force. In early July, Task Force members identified work required in seven domains: curriculum, research & dissemination, faculty & doctoral, students & participants, staff, business engagement, and organization & culture. Teams that focused on these seven areas engaged 47 additional members of the HBS community, beyond the Task Force members. These teams worked through July and August to formulate recommendations in their areas. Compilation and reconciliation of the recommendations yielded a draft action plan by the end of August 2020.

In September 2020, the Task Force sought feedback on the draft plan from groups of faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The additional input shaped this final action plan, which was released on September 23, 2020.

We are deeply grateful to the alumni, students, staff, and faculty identified below, who generously contributed their time, thoughts, expertise, and skills to the work of the Dean’s Anti-Racism Task Force.