PR Industry Leaders on Brand Messaging During The 2020 BLM Protests

In the summer of 2020 the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police brutality and persistent institutional workplace racism with the death of Belly Mujinga saw a resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests on a global scale. This resurgence saw brands around the world release statements and post black squares pertaining to how they would do the work to dismantle anti-Black racism. I was asked to share my thoughts on the PRWeek website.

I am mindful of the fact that many of these major corporations have spent years bringing us reports and reviews about their own internal lack of inclusion and diversity and that some do not even pay their Black employees equally to their white counterparts or honour them in the workplace.

So while statements are good, they must prove to us that they mean what they say in all areas as it pertains to Black people, and that includes the people they serve and the people who work for them.