Thread by @awalkerinLA

Two weeks ago today, I sent an email to producers at KCRW's Greater LA saying I could not appear as a contributor on the show again until the station publicly responded to journalist Cerise Castle's allegations of racism and erasure of her work on the #MyBlackLA project.

Since I sent that note, more Black journalists have come forward sharing their experiences of racism at KCRW. A KCRW employee resigned. And yet, there has been no additional public statement from KCRW management aside from a thread attempting to discredit Cerise’s allegations.

Regular KCRW guests have asked me if they should appear on the station. Here's what I'm telling them.

KCRW has provided a more detailed public explanation for why it dropped the show The Daily than it has for why it's not moving forward with #MyBlackLA kcrw.com/news/articles/…

It was only after an LA Times story was published that KCRW management sent an email to its subscribers with a link to a “Pledge for Equity” from June 2020.

This message has still not been posted in the station’s pressroom or shared on social media kcrw.hs-sites.com/kcrw-pledge-fo…

I feel it is important for me to speak out because as a white contributor to the station, I have not only witnessed some of the microaggressions described by KCRW’s Black journalists, I have also directly benefited from that racism.

I also feel that it is important for me to speak out because when I make mistakes, people call me out for it, and I am grateful for that. With a platform as big as a public radio station, KCRW’s management has a responsibility to address racism in public, not behind closed doors.

I know KCRW employees are working hard to demand change, and likely cannot comment publicly.

As someone who was part of unionization efforts at two newsrooms, I know that confronting racism at our own publications is all-consuming, and I stand in solidarity with @WeMakeKCRW.

“We need you to hold us accountable” reads KCRW’s email to subscribers, as if this was in the past.

But telling subscribers to call you out isn’t enough.

Asking your BIPOC contributors to take on additional labor isn’t enough.

A 9-month-old equity statement isn’t enough.

For those who care about KCRW's future, as I do, I hope that contributors, past employees, and particularly its funders will join me in calling for a dramatic, actionable, measurable public pledge for institutional change.

We deserve nothing less from our public radio station.