June 5, 2020
Poets & Writers stands in solidarity with the Black community in this time of pain and outrage, and with people of goodwill the world over calling for an end to systemic racism.
The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade are only the latest in an excruciating history of state-sanctioned violence against Black people. These killings come during a pandemic that disproportionately afflicts communities of color. That members of these same communities are disproportionately risking their lives as essential workers only adds to the outrage.
At Poets & Writers, we are reflecting on how to respond to these injustices. This begins with the acknowledgement that, although we have a diverse staff, most of our leaders and Board members are white. We must also recognize that we have not been publicly vocal in our opposition to racism in the past and that has been a failure on our part. Our silence has compromised our mission.
We serve writers because they help us understand ourselves and our times, deepen our capacity for empathy, and imagine a better future. To accomplish our mission, we must heighten our understanding of the unique struggles that Black writers face in the publishing industry and literary world due to racism and implicit bias.
Poets & Writers is committed to becoming an anti-racist organization that models the principles of equity and inclusion. In the coming weeks and months, we will devote time and resources to discerning how we have been complicit in supporting unjust practices, how we can contribute to dismantling systemic racism, and how we can more effectively support Black writers as well as other writers of color.
As we undertake this work, we think especially of our Black colleagues on the staff and Board, as well as the Black writers among those we serve—and pledge to do better.
Elliot Figman
Executive Director
Amy Berkower
President of the Board of Directors