I don't think the problem is diversity & inclusion, rather it's white hierarchy. Diversity and inclusion programs are virtue signaling that these institutions know the problem and are working on them without actually having to do the work. I think it was something to calm poc down while they continued business as usual. I have been feeling similarly to you as I'm in these querying streets. So many white agents don't connect to my Black voice, yet they are my obstacle to publishing as there are few agents of color and even fewer with open queries. (I've queried them all 🙃) There are so many talented writers of color that are being overlooked and I'm constantly wishing that there was some collective for us to publish our own stories separate from what whiteness tells us makes a marketable or engaging story.
I don't think the problem is diversity & inclusion, rather it's white hierarchy. Diversity and inclusion programs are virtue signaling that these institutions know the problem and are working on them without actually having to do the work. I think it was something to calm poc down while they continued business as usual. I have been feeling similarly to you as I'm in these querying streets. So many white agents don't connect to my Black voice, yet they are my obstacle to publishing as there are few agents of color and even fewer with open queries. (I've queried them all 🙃) There are so many talented writers of color that are being overlooked and I'm constantly wishing that there was some collective for us to publish our own stories separate from what whiteness tells us makes a marketable or engaging story.