Member-only story
Rewriting the Script — How Writers & Editors Can Support Racial Justice
The winds of change are shifting over the American landscape — and it’s about damn time. As the movement for racial justice and equality continues to build momentum and spread awareness, passion, and the powerful demand for an end to systemic racism, every justice-supporting citizen must do their duty.
Writers and editors are uniquely poised to aid this movement. As a white woman born into a life and social strata defined by privilege, I am determined to quietly do my part to rewrite the narrative that has kept my fellow citizens in literal and metaphorical shackles for centuries. So today I’m going to leave the off-brand humor aside and put out a firm call to action to my fellow artists — now is the time to do your part. Whether you’re a member of the black community, a different oppressed minority group, or white, the roles we play have and always will be an integral part of any movement toward a just and fair society.
Black writers and editors are often doing their part simply by speaking in their own authentic voices — the multi-branched burdens of oppression are already on their shoulders, and the labor they do has been the beating heart of the movement.
It is the community of white or otherwise privileged writers and editors who have a moral and personal…
