Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The Museum of PR and the NY chapter of the Hispanic Public Relations Association are teaming for their 3rd annual salute to Latino PR professionals. The goal is to make sure current PR pros recognize the contributions of Latino communicators to the history of PR.

Communicators who love what they do often speak of good PR as storytelling. To that end, some of Morrison’s greatest quotes help distill what makes strong storytelling tantamount to good communication—bridging the distance between writer and reader, between us and them. Like good communication, good storytelling creates an authentic connection with your audience that cannot be shaken. Here’s a look at some of Toni Morrison’s most powerful quotes on storytelling.

While celebrity and fan support never hurts when fighting for a cause, the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team appearances inspired real media coverage. The publicity also sparked motion toward possible change in a lawsuit filed by the team against the U.S. Soccer Federation over gender discrimination. Moving the needle at a highly-publicized national level could also ignite change regarding pay for all industries, including the ever-present public relations gender wage gap.

Nike has doubled-down on its relationship with Kaepernick by taking his advice and deciding to pull the release of its limited Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July shoe, which was to be released this week to commemorate Independence Day. For communicators wondering what a true spokesperson partnership should look like, here are some teachable takeaways.

If “purpose” is to last as one of PR’s top buzzwords, brands need to step up their game. Already in the past few weeks we’ve seen Nike forced to adjust its purpose concerning treatment of pregnant spokespeople. Now Google, which espouses free speech, among other lofty values, is warning staff there will be repercussions should they protest as Google employees during this weekend’s Pride festivities in San Francisco. Apparently for Google, free speech has its limits.

Nur Ashour, founder of cooking blog Catastrophic Cook, took to Twitter over the weekend to report that she was harassed “for wearing a hijab.” The incident occurred at a Dallas Starbucks. At first glance, it might seem to be a case of a brand being dragged into a potential crisis. Going deeper, that’s not quite it. Ashour’s complaint is against the woman who harassed her, but also includes Starbucks employees who, she alleges, did not come to her aid.

The battle for gender equality marches on, played out in one of the most public spaces, headline news. And it’s not just about how much coverage women are receiving versus men—whether in politics or business or sports—it’s also about how the media portrays women in their roles.

To kick off Pride Month, Budweiser UK announced its partnership with London Pride by launching a “Fly The Flag” campaign featuring nine different brightly-colored Budweiser pint glasses, each depicting a different pride flag. Suffice to say, Twitter wasn’t having it. Advocates in the queer community resented seeing their flags used to sell beer, calling it opportunistic and insincere. Others lamented that Budweiser went too far by over-explaining what the various flags meant.

Pride Month in June is not only a celebration of how much better things have gotten in a country that once treated LGBTQ people as social pariahs. It’s also a reminder that we still have a long way to go to true equality. Two PR pros discuss the past, present and future of LGBTQ issues and how they relate to PR. This also will be the subject of a June 6 panel at the Museum of Public Relations in NY.

This past Mother’s Day, The New York Times ran an opinion piece featuring several female athletes who are sponsored by Nike, focusing on the fact that Nike did not provide these athletes with paid maternity leave. The scandal reminds us that brand communicators should close the gap between what’s promoted and what’s practiced, and partner with legal teams to make sure that contractual language is consistent with brand values.