The Writers Guild of America West Committee of Black Writers penned an open letter to Hollywood, writing: 'we are grieving, we are angry, and we are unapologetically demanding systematic change.'
The Writers Guild of America West Committee of Black Writers penned an open letter to Hollywood on Friday, addressing the reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement and suggesting how lasting change can be introduced in order for diverse screenwriters to be seen and heard with equal visibility to others.
They referenced the statements of many TV networks about their commitment to empowering Black voices in entertainment, noting that they will base the validity of these statements on how they go about enacting new policies. The writers also spoke about Black writers in Hollywood who have "made it," but are still underpaid, denied jobs and rejected from writers rooms for lack of experience. "We need to revolutionize the way our industry hires writers.
For the entertainment industry, Netflix led the charge by sharing its “duty to [its] Black members, employees, creators, and talent to speak up,” declaring that, “[to] be silent is to be complicit,” and closing with the familiar call, “Black lives matter.” Many others followed suit, including Hulu, HBO, CBS, Starz, Warner Bros. TV, FX, A24, and the unions. This was a necessary and, honestly, long overdue step in being accountable to Black artists and employees in Hollywood.
We Black writers who have “made it” in Hollywood have still been denied jobs at all levels, passed over for opportunities we were qualified for, rejected from writers’ rooms because of a “lack of experience,” unsupported when seeking to create content specifically for Black audiences, critically underpaid and mistreated compared to white counterparts, and historically ignored during awards season.
We want to believe your statements imply a new dedication to undoing this damage and repairing the trust between Hollywood and Black writers. The entertainment industry needs to implement “forward-looking project development and staffing practices,” including “attracting, developing, mentoring, hiring, and retaining the next generations of diverse writers, directors, producers and executives, at all levels” .
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