PRSA Chicago is proud to celebrate Black History Month

PRSA Chicago is proud to celebrate Black History Month with a tribute to African Americans who have made valuable contributions to our industry and continue to help write PR history.  We salute Joseph V. Baker as a PR pioneer who founded America’s first Black-owned PR firm.

Transitioning from the city editor at the Philadelphia Tribune, he worked as a PR consultant for the Pennsylvania Railroad. This move led him to start his firm, Joseph V. Baker and Associates, in 1934. The New York-based firm specialized in PR, marketing and advertising aimed at Black audiences. Baker retired from Joseph V. Baker and Associates in the early 1980s.

We are proud to honor this historical pioneer for paving the way for more Black PR entrepreneurs.