In the latest “PR’s Top Pros Talk” video interview, NAACP National Press Secretary Marc Banks talks with Doug Simon about how the organization is working with brands to further its efforts toward increased social justice.

“We definitely need to continue the work that we’ve seen over this past year to change the culture and change the narrative around social justice and racial justice,” Banks says, “and how it’s important for brands to incorporate it into the fabric of their organization.”

Banks tells Simon that brands often bring the NAACP in when “they realize that they neglected a certain group of the population—black people, brown people—and they want to do better with catering to that particular demographic.”

He also discusses how the NAACP partners with brands on initiatives that include providing grants to black businesses and creating pipelines into such industries as entertainment and film.

Another main focus is showing companies how to give people from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to advance within organizations. “If you look around a C-suite table, and there’s no person of color, or black people, or brown people, you might want to say, ‘OK, why is that,’ and look deeper into the culture of the company,” Banks says.

Banks also warns brands against seeing their responses to social and racial justice issues as a short-term fix. “If a brand’s jumping in the moment doesn’t want to be seen as performative,” he tells Simon, “they have to get to the fundamental of where they want to see their brand, in five, ten years.”

View all of the interviews in the “PR's Top Pros Talk” series. Subscribe to get notified when new episodes are available.

Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at [email protected]

D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.