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Racial Inequality in the Publishing Industry, and How I, as a White Reader, Have Contributed
I love words. That’s why I earned an English degree and am now earning my MFA in poetry — to learn as much as I could/can about using them. That being said, I have an appreciation for numbers; the way that they too speak a language, the way that numbers offer rich fields for dialogue.
With Black Lives Matter protests breaking out all over the U.S., with voices rising to speak up for racial disparities that have occurred since forever and a half, with various ways that industries propel, disinvite, make unwelcome, and suppress a diversity of voices, I’d love to examine and share some numbers with you.
According to the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau, this is the United States of America by race:
White: 60.4%
Hispanic/Latino Americans (of any race): 18.3%
Black or African American: 13.4%
Asian: 5.9%
Native Americans and Alaska Natives: 1.3%
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders: .02%
Two or more races: 2.7%
Alright, got those numbers? Let’s dive into the publishing industry.
