In the latest step in tackling systemic racism, the past week has seen Black and Brown creatives in the United States and United Kingdom pen open letters to the wider film and TV industry.
On June 17, Deadline reported that a group in the United States — self described as “over 125 Black and Brown Independent Producers and Allies” — had written an open letter to Hollywood calling for systemic change. “While messages condemning racism and advocating for solidarity on social media may inspire hope, Hollywood must put its money and practices where its mouth is,” they emphasized. “A direct line can be drawn from the stories and voices that Hollywood silences, to the discrimination and biases that are pervasive in the entertainment industry and larger society.”
Inspired by the letter, U.K. organizers followed suit on June 21 by issuing a letter of their own, which they say “addresses our continuing issues with the UK industry.” Variety broke the news.
While the U.K. version has been revised to address specific issues particular to the local industry, both letters follow the same format, with the same demands. They call on the industry to “banish” the excuses given for not hiring Black and Brown creatives, to empower Black and Brown Independent Producers, and ask decision makers in the industry to “expand your vision” and “be more demanding.”
Relating their call for action to the continued protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism that are happening around the world, the letter organizers write, “There are countless men and women in the streets right now, putting their lives, health, and livelihoods on the line, fighting for an end to systemic racism. There will be no end until financiers, distributors and the community of decision-makers cease this practice of marginalizing our voices and our stories.”
They further clarify, “This marginalization perpetuates the racism we’ve experienced for centuries, negatively impacts our economic livelihoods, and further obscures our humanity. If Black lives matter to you, our stories and the scale on which they are marketed and distributed must as well.”
The letters continue with a challenge “to become willing partners in this righteous endeavor. If the full spectrum of our experiences are not produced, marketed and celebrated on the same budgetary scale and with the same regularity that white stories are, then you are actively denying our humanity.” They conclude, “Our stories and experiences can no longer be limited to being backdrops for white narratives and protagonists. Nor should our stories of brutalization and suffering be told for mere entertainment, pity, or others’ edification.”
Signatories of the U.S. list include writer, director and producer, and founder of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Iyabo Boyd (“For Ahkeem”); producer and director Lisa Cortés (“The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion”); Bird Runningwater of Sundance Institute, Director, Indigenous Program; director of photography Cybel Martin (“All Rise”); and filmmakers such as Tayarisha Poe (“Selah and the Spades”) and Nijla Mumin (“Jinn”).
More than 3,500 members of the U.K.’s film and TV industry signed their version of the letter, including “I May Destroy You” creator and actress Michaela Coel; TV cook, presenter, and author Nadiya Hussain; and filmmakers such as Gurinder Chadha (“Bend it Like Beckham”) and Amma Asante (“Belle”). The full list of signatories can be found here.
The publication of the U.K. version of the letter follows a similar open address just days prior from the newly formed Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic TV Task Force. Addressed to the U.K. government, broadcasters, streamers, and a number of other bodies in the industry, the letter outlines proposals and objectives for making the industry more inclusive.
Read the full U.S. version of the letter here, and the full U.K version here.
