At CPRS Toronto, we used the last few weeks to better educate ourselves on the issues around us. Supporting Black Lives Matter and standing up against racism in Canada is an issue that we will be pursuing going forward through our advocacy work and professional development events within our chapter.
Racism and cultural bias, of any kind, has no place anywhere, including our immediate community, and the larger network of marketers, organizations and professionals we work to represent.
We would like to share resources that have helped us understand the history of the black movement within the context of working in communications. We will also share additional resources as they become available via our social media channels. This is a movement that deserves our continued attention and action moving forward.
- It’s Time to Get Uncomfortable by Dwayna Haley, SVP & Practice Director, Brand Innovation & Impact, Porter Novelli
- Diversity in Communications hosted by Neil Foote of the National Black Public Relations Society Inc.
We are also encouraging our members to review the CPRS Code of Professional Standards and our Code of Ethics, which hold our members to a high standard. At our Annual General Meeting on June 22, we will make further comments about how we plan to educate ourselves and our community on race and discrimination.
As public relations and communications professionals it’s our duty to shape the news and influence opinions around us. We have an important role to do better in the future and give equal representation to people of colour in our community and beyond. The Black Lives Matter movement, which has seen protests across Toronto, calls for greater analysis of how our own bias can impact our responsibility as communicators.