In this video I talk about Letters to a Writer of Color, an anthology of essays by writers of color to writers of color. And yes, the book briefly addresses the problematic term "writers of color" and then decides to go with it. Which I appreciate, however...
In my own work, I generally use the term "global majority writers" because I like to hammer in the fact that white people are not the majority, "color" is an inexact word, and people of color are only colored in relation to whiteness.
Also, white people are not actually white. They have a color! A variety of colors, in fact, like beige, pink, apricot, tawny, and even olive (which is not green but more of a golden tan).
Also, look at me! I may not look 100% like a "white" person - I do have that fairly common "mixed" look - but my "color" is not the root of my perspective or my pain. I am not prevented from moving freely in the white world or discriminated in white settings because of my skin or hair. No, my perspective and my rage is fueled by culture.
And - in case you're white and unaware - culture is at the root of whiteness. Not color. And culture (and experience) is what Black Americans bring, and Puerto Ricans bring, and indigenous Puyallup folks bring, etc. which is distinct from how white people experience the world (end of DEI lesson).
Okay, that said, please enjoy my first video and, if you are a global majority writer or an editor who wants to broaden your usefulness to non-white clientele, get this book!
Letters to a Writer of Color, edited by Deepa Anaparra and Taymor Soomro*
*If I mangled their names in the video, I apologize and welcome corrections
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