Black-led professional networks across media, advertising, and the wider creative industries have come together to call on the industry to invest in community-led work.
The joint campaign, Uplifting Our Communities, will run throughout October to mark Black History Month and align with this year’s theme, ‘Honouring our Communities’, which celebrates the people and volunteers who bring people together.
The networks involved are Avenir Network, Black Create Connect, BLAQSPACE, BRiM, The Elephant Room, Join Our Table, and Talks with MS.
The campaign will include a joint celebration event, a shared events calendar, community storytelling and a shared hashtag connecting members across the seven networks.
The organisations are calling on the industry to “pour back in” by investing in community-led work, opening doors through jobs and mentoring, sharing access to senior leaders and resources, publicly championing Black talent and building relationships that last beyond October.
The networks argue that community plays an important role in helping Black professionals stay, grow and lead within the industry, whether through mentorship, connection and access to opportunity that might otherwise be out of reach.
The initiative comes at what the networks describe as a testing moment for Black professionals working in the industry.
They point to Creative Diversity Network’s latest Diamond data, which shows Black professionals made up just 2.7% of off-screen TV contributions in 2025, down from 4% in 2022. Meanwhile, the 2025 All in Census found nearly one in four Black advertising professionals were considering leaving the industry altogether.
The sector is also processing the recent death of Jason Arday, Cambridge’s youngest Black professor, which the campaign says has prompted conversations about the pressures faced by Black professionals in public-facing roles.
Annika Allen, a community spokesperson and co-founder of Join Our Table, said: “We shouldn’t need difficult statistics to prove the value of community, but they remind us why this work can’t be taken for granted.
“Our communities do the work in the gaps; we want the industry to recognise that value, not just during October.”
