The Chicago Reader published a lengthy piece—Separate, Unequal, and Ignored—detailing the racial segregation that persists in the city. The report actually has direct similarities to the situation in the advertising industry, where exclusivity has created a dearth of diversity. It’s something few people want to examine, and even fewer want to address. Gary Orfield, a prominent desegregation advocate who focuses on schools, managed to increase student integration in some metro areas of St. Louis and Louisville. His words on school integration could easily be applied to Madison Avenue. “Segregation didn’t happen by accident, and integration doesn’t happen by accident,” Orfield says. “It can be done, but you really have to plan to do it. You have to make it a goal.” Wonder if any White advertising executives will bother scanning The Chicago Reader for insight.
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