The Think Tank For Inclusion And Equity Calls On Hollywood To Prioritize Hiring Black Writers

As people are forced to face the racial inequality that has been plaguing the country for decades — centuries even — the Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity (TTIE) published their support for Black Lives Matter and a call to action to Hollywood to hire more Black writers and demanded industry leaders to commit to equal pay.
In May, TTIE released its second “Behind the Scenes: The State of Inclusion and Equity in TV Writing” report which showed that although the industry has seen an increase in efforts to monitor and track representation in writers' rooms, underrepresented voices are still jumping over hurdles.
In their published article they made a call to action to “prioritize hiring Black writers, not only when creating Black characters and crafting Black stories, but for all stories.” In addition, they referenced the recently released WGA Inclusion Report Card which shows that writers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are entering writers' rooms at near-parity levels, but fall off the radar when they should be climbing the ranks.
They offer solutions and demand the industry to identify and eliminate practices in your workplace that create roadblocks for the advancement of Black writers and to lift up the voices of Black Creative Executives. In addition, they encourage the industry to “sit in the discomfort of stories you may not recognize” and spotlighting and elevating stories that go beyond harmful stereotypes that have been often portrayed in mainstream film and TV.
“We call on you to seize this moment as an opportunity to change the way you and your organization do business,” they said in their published call to action. “It will require constant commitment and daily practice to change the way we tell stories and the way we do business. Do not let your discomfort be a barrier to transformation.”
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