The DCSWA board condemns assaults on Black lives and press freedom. We stand for justice and equality.
In the midst of a global pandemic and economic crisis that both disproportionately affect communities of color, protests erupted nationwide last week after a Minnesota police officer killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. In March, Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman, was fatally shot by officers in her home. These wrongful deaths of Black people at police hands are not isolated incidents. As an organization of journalists, public information officers, and communications professionals, we look to the facts: In 2019, Black Americans made up 24% of victims killed by police officers, but make up only 13% of the United States population.
Since the protests began, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has tallied more than 149 “assaults,” which includes “physical attacks, but also tear-gassing, pepper-spraying, or being fired upon with rubber bullets and other projectiles,” on journalists by police officers, according to the Intercept. The same group has counted more than 45 journalist arrests. As evidenced by the arrest of a Black CNN reporter on live broadcast last Friday, Black journalists can experience additional risks and trauma in covering these events.
Racial bias does not only exist in the form of police violence. More than 59 percent of hate crimes that occurred in the U.S. in 2018 were motivated by race, ethnicity, or ancestry bias, according to an FBI report. This year, as COVID-19 spread across the country, there have been discriminatory attacks on Asian Americans, with more than 1,700 reports since March 19. Since 2016, hate crimes on the basis of race, religion, and sexual orientation have all risen in recent years—but many instances go unreported.
Hate crimes are obvious and aggressive forms of discrimination. But racism in the United States is systemic. We echo our colleagues at NASW in recognizing that “racism bleeds into our work and workplaces and feeds into the system that perpetuates this violence.” Journalists of color often face harassment from sources and become targets of vicious online abuse. Other science communicators of color face direct and indirect racism in their workplace.
We call on scientific, communications, and journalism communities to better support colleagues of color in our own fields. Newsroom employees and university faculty are less diverse than U.S. workers overall. It’s imperative that these industries take steps to bring meaningful inclusivity and diversity to the workplace.
Change starts with us. DCSWA recognizes that more diversity among journalists, public information officers, and communications professionals means better journalism and better communications as it represents a broader range of experiences, backgrounds, and expertise.
We echo the Capital Science Communicators in California in encouraging all members to be allies. They write:
“Examine your own assumptions, cognitive biases, and knowledge gaps regarding the prevalence and seriousness of institutional threats that Black Americans face everyday. Learn to identify policies and attitudes at your workplace that are ripe for reexamination. Seek professional development training for yourself and your team on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Create supportive spaces for colleagues and mentees to discuss and recommend improvements. Communicate your efforts and model positive change for others in your peer group.”
The principles stated in our code of conduct are not just words: DCSWA is dedicated to providing a safe and welcoming experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, or religion. DCSWA does not tolerate harassment of members in any form.
The DCSWA board will continue to serve all of our members and has already begun discussing new programming and resources around boosting diversity and inclusion. And we’d especially like to hear from you to guide our next steps forward. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email during this time at president@dcswa.org.
We have curated a resource guide for those in need of support or those interested in improving the diversity of journalism, becoming an ally, and contributing to newsrooms and journalists on the frontlines. NASW has also curated an exhaustive resource guide about inclusivity and intersectionality in the workplace and greater science community that you can contribute to directly.
— DCSWA Board
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.