OPINION: POC, we are sorry we haven’t done better

As of Jan. 1, The Argonaut has produced six stories specifically about Black History Month, Black Lives Matter or other Black issues.

Six. Altogether this year we have written, edited and published 544 stories, yet only six of them were specifically about Black people.

That is not enough. And the excuse that Idaho is only 1% Black or African American isn’t good enough.

So what? That is still 17,800 people.

While we can’t feasibly tell the story of all 17,800, we sure as hell can do a lot better than six stories.

The voices of our community prove to us that six stories are not enough. Close to 200 people attended Pullman’s Black Lives Matter protest on Sunday and close to 150 people at Wednesday’s The Palouse Demands Justice Vigil. The people of Moscow care about Black lives. So do we.

The issues of journalism and communities of color is not a new issue and I know that I’ve had enough.

In 2000, the American Society of News Editors promised newsroom diversity would at least match the population, according to a Columbia Journalism Review special report. That failed miserably.

Pew Research Center reported in 2018 that newsrooms are still predominantly male and non-Hispanic. But here’s the problem: the world isn’t.

White male newsrooms’ lack of knowledge when it comes to diverse issues is showing. In the last two days, both The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer have angered their journalists of color.

And while we are not The New York Times or The Philadelphia Inquirer, we are a newsroom that creates journalists who move onto larger scale newsrooms. Our journalists will go on to larger newsrooms where their bosses will likely be white men.

I know I will listen to what African American and Black people and journalists are saying, will you?

The New York Times — whose leadership staff is 76% white — published an Op-Ed column from Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton titled “Send In the Troops.” The column asks for military enforcement against the protestors mourning George Floyd.

This is no better than an act of war against People of Color (POC). And The New York Times journalists had enough, especially the organization’s African American and Black journalists.

The New York Times leadership has since stated the article was rushed and is under review.

Black New York Times journalists started a Twitter movement, retweeting the article saying, “Running this puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger.”

As journalists and employees of The New York Times company, these journalists put themselves at risk to stand up for themselves. Now, of course, compared to the epidemic of violence against African American people, we can risk our privileged jobs.  

The Philadelphia Inquirer published a story with the headline “Buildings Matter, Too,” in regard to the buildings being destroyed during country-wide riots, protests and vigils for George Floyd. But the issue with this headline — I shouldn’t even have to tell you — is it states buildings are worth the same as African American or Black lives.

In America though, they are. And that is the point people are trying to make. We care more about our precious buildings and capitalist society than young African American or Black people.

Is that Target building worth more important than George Floyd?

Is the WalMart down the street worth more important than Eric Garner?

Is that Family Dollar worth more important than Tamir Rice?

How about Macy’s? Do we care more about its building than Michael Brown?

These few names are just a fraction of a fraction of the African American or Black people who have died at the hands of white cops.

But I know these words only mean so much. So instead I want to hear from our communities of color. But what I can promise you is we will focus on recruiting more journalists of color. We will cover things that are not just the negatives or the big things. And we will include more people of color in our everyday coverage.

Though, I also want this article to serve as a letter to all POC who feel journalists aren’t portraying your stories correctly. Please tell us. We need to do better. All journalists need to do better. And we will do better. All journalists will do better.

— Sincerely, our mad journalists of color and their allies. Who know they can do better.

*This story has been edited to reflect that 1% of 1.78 million is 17,800 people.