{"id":36943,"date":"2023-08-28T12:28:09","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T16:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=36943"},"modified":"2023-08-28T12:29:16","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T16:29:16","slug":"anthony-harrison-81-on-finding-his-path-as-a-black-gay-communicator","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/anthony-harrison-81-on-finding-his-path-as-a-black-gay-communicator\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Harrison (\u201981) on Finding His Path as a Black, Gay Communicator"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin bu-blocks-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-scaled.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Anthony Harrison posigh with head resting on his hand.\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2023\/08\/comtalk-anthony-harrison-banner-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnthony Harrison (\u201981) on Finding His Path as a Black, Gay Communicator\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">The veteran publicist is both an organizer of and a speaker at COM\u2019s second Black Media Symposium on September 22<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-categories\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/category\/alumni\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlumni\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/category\/diversity\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDiversity\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">August 28, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/authors\/steve-holt\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Holt\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div style=\"display:none;\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-inner js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t<h4>Share<\/h4>\n\t\t<p class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-title\">Anthony Harrison (\u201981) on Finding His Path as a Black, Gay Communicator<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-link\">\n\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" value=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/anthony-harrison-81-on-finding-his-path-as-a-black-gay-communicator\/\" readonly>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<label>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Copy URL:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Copy<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/label>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>The 2022 Black Media Symposium hadn\u2019t even taken place yet, and organizers already knew there needed to be another one in 2023, Anthony Harrison says. Harrison (\u201981), a public relations veteran with <em>Fortune<\/em> 500 companies like Starbucks, Microsoft, Disney and Facebook, and a member of the event\u2019s organizing committee at COM, says <a href=\"https:\/\/combeyond.bu.edu\/offering\/black-media\/\">this year\u2019s symposium<\/a> will expand on the topics explored in 2022, while breaking important new ground. He says organizers are inviting even more voices into the conversation this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat I&#8217;m excited about is having the time and energy to really promote this to a broader audience so that we can get more people in the room,\u201d says Harrison, who is also the outgoing president of BU\u2019s Alumni Association. \u201cThe one thing we want to do, in addition to the programmatic stuff, is open this up to more members of the BU community, more members in the communications community, and really do a broader job of promoting this. Last year, I think there were a good number of people that heard about it after the fact, and they were like, \u2018wow, I wish I had known about this.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The free, one-day 2023 Black Media Symposium will take place Friday, September 22, 2023, at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/thurman\/\">Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground<\/a>. Registration and a light breakfast will begin at 8 a.m., with panels beginning at 9 a.m. Panel topics include the impact of diversity and inclusion on media companies; a discussion with the founders of three innovative organizations; navigating being Black and LGBTQ+ in the workplace; how to be a white ally to communicators of color in the workplace; and a conversation on the state of Black media. The Ida Lewis (\u201956) Keynote Conversation will feature alumni panelists who are \u201cchanging the entertainment industry.\u201d At the conclusion of the program, attendees will have a chance to meet speakers, panelists and alumni at a networking reception. <a href=\"https:\/\/combeyond.bu.edu\/product\/black-media-registration\/\">Registration information<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/combeyond.bu.edu\/offering\/black-media\/schedule\/\">schedule<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/combeyond.bu.edu\/offering\/black-media\/speakers\/\">speaker bios<\/a> are available online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>COMtalk<\/em> asked Harrison about the reaction to last year\u2019s symposium, his hopes for the event in September, and his own journey as a Black, gay man telling the stories of some of the world\u2019s biggest brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title\"><h2 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-heading\">Q<span>&amp;<\/span>A<\/h2><h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-subheading\">With Anthony Harrison<\/h4><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>The Black Media Symposium is happening again, which must mean the reaction to last year\u2019s was positive. What impact do you think it had?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Anthony Harrison:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">When you do something like this for the first time, you have high hopes, but you\u2019re never quite sure. I have been in communications my entire career, and I still get that knot in my stomach before an event: Is anybody really going to show up? But I think the enthusiasm from the participants, from the panel members, from the students, from the alumni\u2014across the board\u2014was really good. They were so proud BU was doing something like this. So proud and excited about the quality of the panelists, both the alums as well as the outside speakers. I\u2019m always pleasantly surprised at the caliber of other BU alums, other COM alums. The accomplishments they have in the field, the things that they&#8217;ve done, the point of view that they\u2019ve taken. It\u2019s interesting to see how people have taken their degrees and morphed into the different variations of themselves, and have found their own path. Particularly, I think, when you look at grads of color, the path is not always straight and clear. And so, there were folks there that forged their own way, whether it was through an entrepreneurial thing, or figured out what their space, their niche was in this world, which was also exciting. So, I think it was particularly great for students of color to see people who look like them in positions of leadership, in positions of power, in decision-making positions.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You just said the path is not always straight for communicators of color. Were there ways in which that was true for you?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Anthony Harrison:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">My path is interesting. I came out of BU into the working world at a time when, for me, success meant downplaying the fact that I was Black. It definitely also meant downplaying the fact that I was gay. Success early in my career was about blending in and making the people around me comfortable with me, so that they would focus on my professional skills, and not on those other things. And certainly, the working world in general, and [communications] in particular, has changed dramatically, where it really is about bringing your true and authentic self [to work]\u2014personal Anthony with professional Anthony\u2014so that there\u2019s no code-switching. I am what I am, I am what you see, and I am unapologetic about that. Certainly over the arc of my career, I\u2019ve moved to a place where I am unapologetically Black and all of the other things I am: a man, the oldest child, a first-generation student, grew up in the city. All of those things contribute to who I am as a person today and what I bring to the workplace. And I think there\u2019s a much broader appreciation for that in the workplace today, and I think younger people coming up really want to find workplaces where they can be [themselves]. So, when they see someone like me who\u2019s being all of those things simultaneously, that encourages them to do the same, and to find a workplace where all of those different facets of their being are appreciated and valued\u2014and not just the skills they bring to the table.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>Was there a moment when you decided, \u201cI\u2019m going to be my authentic self in the workplace\u201d rather than downplay aspects of yourself\u2014such as your race or sexual orientation?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Anthony Harrison:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">Yeah, there certainly was. It was probably in my early 30s that I had, up to that point, a series of traditional corporate roles with big companies\u2014Verizon, <em>The New York Times<\/em>, that kind of thing. And I made a decision to take a job with a nonprofit that was working primarily in the HIV and AIDS area [with a] focus on the gay community. And when I was contemplating taking that job, several people\u2014mentors\u2014told me it would be the end of my career in corporate life, that I couldn\u2019t go to work for this openly gay-focused HIV nonprofit and think I could come back to corporate America. And I was like, \u201cOkay, respectfully, thanks for sharing. But this is something I feel I need to do.\u201d And so I went and I did that for a few years. When I came back to the corporate world from that bubble where I could be all the things I had been downplaying, I ultimately couldn\u2019t shove all of that back into a closet. I couldn\u2019t dial it back again. I couldn\u2019t code-switch. I couldn&#8217;t not be who I was. It was scary at the time because it felt like a huge leap of faith, but it\u2019s paid off 1,000 times.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You kept the same theme as last year, for this year\u2019s symposium: \u201cBlack Media: Reflecting on the Past, and Reimagining the Future.\u201d Why did the organizers decide to stay there, as opposed to going in a different direction?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Anthony Harrison:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">We felt there was still more that we can do around that topic, that we had barely scratched the surface. There were things that we didn\u2019t have the time and resources to do last year that we could do this year. There were things that we touched on that really resonated, there were new opportunities and things that came under that umbrella that we could sort of take a look at. Collectively, the group felt there was still gold to mine in those hills, and we wanted to dig deeper.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>Can you give me an example of a topic or a speaker for this year\u2019s symposium that exemplifies going deeper?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Anthony Harrison:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">Speaking personally, the topic that I\u2019m going to lead a discussion on: navigating as a queer person of color in the media space. How do you navigate and how do you be your authentic self? Last year, I was part of a panel that talked about [diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI], in its broadest sense. So, this is sort of diving a little deeper into one aspect of DEI, and thinking about how you navigate as a queer person in these spaces, be your authentic self, find your community, speak to your community, connect with your community, and all of those things. And looking at it from a multigenerational point of view, as I said, my experience coming up is very different from someone who graduated 10 years ago, or five years ago. The world continues to evolve. You know, there\u2019s a lot more misinformation, and animosity about aspects of the queer community today that we need to address as a community. So there\u2019s lots of ways that we can take this session.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2022 Black Media Symposium hadn\u2019t even taken place yet, and organizers already knew there needed to be another one&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1654,"featured_media":36945,"template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"categories":[962,1483],"tags":[1684],"bu-publication":[],"discipline-type":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/36943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1654"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/36943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36948,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/36943\/revisions\/36948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36943"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=36943"},{"taxonomy":"discipline-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline-type?post=36943"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=36943"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=36943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}