This week we hosted a conversation on non-optical allyship that marketing and comms pros can engage in with Black communities. We heard from Iman Jefferson, Head of East Region Communications, General Motors, Elliot Carlyle, Managing Director to Fern Mallis and Director of Cultural Diversity & Inclusion at NYC Jewelry Week, Luis Braga, Director, Lifestyle & Brand Engagement at H&S, Amani Olu, founder, Olu & Company and Brittney Escovedo, founder & CEO of event production company, Beyond 8.

The takeaways:

• Companies must make sure the culture is a safe space and create a workplace culture that celebrates blackness and POC. Make it safe for them, admit past mistakes, and then take action to do better
• Consider who you will potentially encounter from a recruiting standpoint. Add schools to rosters so that diversity is found when outsourcing interns, staff, etc.
• Recruitment is just the first step. Are there opportunities for growth? Diversity might be present at a junior level, but what does it look like higher up the ladder?
• Openness and creating opportunities is very important right now. Create space for people to have community and interact, opening the door to people that just need a shot
• Make sure the people you’re talking to or about are in the room. Ask: Are we making changes within our organizations?
• Diversity in the company needs to be ongoing strategy treated the way you would go after X audience or list
• One Black perspective is not representative of the community as a whole; you need multiple Black voices at the table, and they need to be acknowledged, valued and appreciated
• Companies need to realize consumer purchasing power is made up of a diverse group
• It’s important for PR teams to look at strategy from a diverse perspective and using data. Brands and companies are looking to you for advice on how to convey their messages to the public, so acknowledge and address that the public is comprised of many different racial and ethnic backgrounds
• It is not enough to bring on Black influencers (it feels like checking a box). All the elements need to be diversified; ask: from leadership to assistants, is there a diverse mix of people?
• Most people don't deal with people who don't look like them. We have to make sure we are doing a greater job at looking at content and engagement and reaching who we say we want to reach
• Community is integral. We all have a responsibility in this, and the only way to move forward is to dig deep, not just have surface conversations. Keep talking: That’s the way we can band together and do something really powerful