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Public Relations as Social Change Catalyst

 

To be an effective catalyst for positive social change the global public relations industry should first ensure that it models the change it wants to see become prevalent.

In my public relations experience spanning a 30-year period “confronting systemic racism and identifying systemic solutions” was not a priority or an identified issue to be addressed at middle management or executive levels in most places I have worked. I doubt that it was on any work group’s radar.

In cases where those were publicly held companies or other for-profit ventures, there is established industry reluctance to avoid attaching the brand to so-called “hot-button” issues largely to avoid negative impact on earnings should a public backlash occur.

In the US, federal civil rights legislation and a rash of workplace discrimination lawsuits in the 1960s and ‘70s contributed to growth in diversity training and ultimately the common presence of “diversity officers” at many companies. Across contemporary work settings, racial and cultural awareness have become part of the organizational landscape. These efforts remain a work in progress. Considering the lack of diversity at executive and board levels at top corporations and some large non-profits, there is significant ground to be gained to rectify the dearth of diversity.

Tackling unconscious bias, affinity bias, attempting to achieve a more diverse workplace are critical tasks for diversity offices, but can those efforts go further to confront systemic racism, working with public relations departments as the catalyst?

With courage, strategic planning, and intentionality the public relations profession, using its power to persuade, is imminently well-suited to be the tip of the spear for “positive change, social-justice reform and societal unity.”

I think it would require the industry to step outside its natural risk-averse posture and form alliances with other organizations for the specific purpose of ushering social change, particularly at this critical period the world faces with criminal justice reform poised to become a linchpin issue.

Possible approaches: 1) PR associations, along with going further to effect social justice reforms, should lead by example from the top and commit to a time-certain that their boards and chapters will be diverse by a targeted percentage,  2) Leaders of the top global PR trade organizations convene a joint task force to review the issue and provide specific recommendations identifying ways the industry can serve as a catalyst for change; including a dedicated issue management campaign, 3) Agency and in-house public relations professionals work pro bono with grassroots racial justice organizations and other partners to maximize the results of their advocacy efforts.

I believe the main hurdles the public relations industry will face in confronting racism is courage, endurance and organization. In the US, part of the challenge is geographical. For practitioners working in many of the southern and some western states, race continues to be a highly sensitive issue that people are reluctant to approach.  However, in other parts of the US there is less hesitance to tackle race head-on.  Barriers to progress can be overcome through strong leadership and by seizing the opening currently provided by the activist climate that exists and is likely to persist for the foreseeable future.

It is encouraging to see PRCA raise this provocative and necessary topic, especially at what may be a defining moment in world affairs with a viral pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest all converging globally.

 

Anthony Hicks

Anthony Hicks is a retired public relations professional, most recently Director of Public Relations for Shelby Residential and Vocational Services, Tennessee's largest provider of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has worked in corporate communications and has experience as a newspaper reporter, editor, and journalism educator.  He holds a bachelor of science degree in Journalism from Arkansas State University and a master’s degree in Urban Affairs & Public Policy from the University of Delaware.