Who is Joseph Varney Baker?

There are many pioneers in the field of public relations, one of them being Joseph Varney Baker.  In 1934, he left is job as city editor of the Philadelphia Tribune to become a public relations consultant with the Pennsylvania Railroad.  He was the first African American public relations specialist to gain recognition nationwide.  It was at this time that he became a major pioneer in public relations.  He later opened his own agency in New York City.  Joseph Varney Baker was also the first African American to become president of a chapter of the Public Relations Society of American and the first to become accredited by the PRSA.