We are in the midst of a national reckoning with institutionalized anti-black racism in healthcare, policing, and industry. Across the country, politicians, business leaders and everyday people are asking what it means to stand for Black lives. To do so requires committing ourselves beyond surface level diversity and inclusion practices and digging deeper into what anti-racism can actually look like in our professional lives.
In this series, experts will share their insights and tactics for creating an anti-racist workplace in three areas:
Sep 8 | Navigating racial microaggressions at work
Sep 15 | Building anti-racist practices in recruitment, hiring, and retention
Sep 22 | Building an anti-racist toolkit in marketing and communications
This learning series is designed for current and future professionals connected to communications and marketing roles across industries, as well as professionals that hire and support communications and marketing roles: including, but not limited to human resources, public relations, events, social. Professionals outside these fields are also welcome and encouraged to join. Participants can attend all three sessions in the series or individual sessions that speak to their learning needs.
The “Transforming Silence into Action” learning series is produced by the University of Washington Communication Leadership graduate program and Simplicity Consulting in collaboration with Jodi-Ann Burey.
Registration will end 4 hours before each session begins. You will receive a Zoom link details 24 hours before the event. ASL interpreters will be available upon request during the registration process.
The series title references “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action,” an essay by writer, thinker, and activist Audre Lorde. You can read the complete essay via Electric Literature and read a brief biography of Lorde via the Poetry Foundation.
Racial Microaggressions in the Workplace
Tuesday, September 8
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Many professionals of color across industry regularly experience racial microaggressions at work: being called “too aggressive” for simply asking a question in a meeting, hearing yet another comment about your hairstyle, feeling like your contributions are overlooked or being promoted on a slower schedule than your white peers. Racial microaggressions also show up in marketing and communication products: advertising, email marketing campaigns, websites, and more.
Too many of us know the damage racial microaggressions can cause. Too many allies do not know what to do.
Join speaker and equity advocate Jodi-Ann Burey for an interactive webinar that examines racial microaggressions at work and how we can recognize, respond and most importantly, create workplace cultures that push racial microaggressions out of the norm. Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences.
Building Anti-Racist Practices for Recruitment, Hiring and Retention
Tuesday, September 15
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Building racially diverse teams involves more than just hiring. The entire talent life cycle begins before candidates know about your company and extends well beyond their first day. In this session, experts will unpack myths about recruiting, hiring and retaining people of color and share tactics that will help shift your human resources and talent development policies and practices toward the goal of racial equity.
The session will begin with case study presentations from each of our speakers, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Jodi-Ann Burey. Speakers to be announced.
Building an Anti-Racism Toolkit for Marketing and Communications
Tuesday, September 22
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM EST
From corporate statements about standing for Black lives to the decision to discontinue the Aunt Jemima logo, the community of marketing and communication professionals now face a reckoning of its own. So what now? What impact can marketing and communication professionals make with a commitment to integrally tie anti-racist practices to the work?
In this session, experts will focus on the work of the marketing and communications fields and dive deep into specific insights and tactics to build a toolkit to bring anti-racism principles into the everyday decisions of our work. This session will face truths about biases in our work and workplaces, from design and strategy to creating inclusive spaces for professionals of color in the industry.
The session will begin with case study presentations from each of our speakers, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Jodi-Ann Burey. Speakers to be announced.