Dear readers,
We have been and will always be committed to the work of Black, PoC, women, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and all marginalized peoples. It is with a heavy heart that we have seen the current administration feign ignorance and shirk responsibility during a global pandemic. It is also that same administration that has been pivotal in normalizing abuses of power, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and ableism.
At this very moment people have taken to the streets all across this nation and are making it abundantly clear: WE WILL NOT LET THIS CONTINUE!
But what was the spark that set these protests in motion? Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, George Floyd, and countless others are who people are marching for. They are marching against systemic racism that targeted the Black community for hundreds of years.
Silence is a form of complicity. You make a conscious choice when you do not speak up about the violences afflicted on your fellow human. You legitimize the harm that will be placed upon future generations with a “wait and see” approach. We will not be silent; we will not be complicit.
We stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. We stand with the grassroots organizations who have been doing and continue to do this hard work. WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE.
We condemn white supremacy. We condemn systematic racism. We condemn patriarchal power structures that protect and support racists and white supremacists. We condemn the inaction of any and all people in the face of discrimination.
If you consider yourself an ally that means you are aware of your privilege. How will you use your privilege to dismantle oppressive structures until they no longer exist? How will you signal boost the voices of the oppressed and the marginalized? How will you educate yourself, integrate feedback from your dispossessed peers into your work, and unlearn the oppression you were taught growing up?
We appreciate your readership, and we would greatly appreciate your support in ending the hateful practice of anti-Blackness in all of its forms.
Thank you. This letter was created and published in conjunction with our friends at The Offing.
The Rumpus
The Offing
Shade Literary Arts
PRISM international
beestung
Bettering American Poetry
Anomaly
New England Review
Crab Creek Review
Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review
Lammergeier
quip literary review
Writ Large Press
The Accomplices
Black Warrior Review
Split Lip Magazine
Waxwing
Whale Road Review
Pangyrus
Hyphen Magazine
TriQuarterly
The Bushwick Review
Electric Town Lit
Oscilloscope Literary Magazine
No Tender Fences
SOBER. Magazine
Okay Donkey Magazine
Pussy Magic Magazine
The McNeese Review
Frontier Poetry
Tinderbox Poetry Journal
Linden Avenue Literary Journal
Up the Staircase Quarterly
Porter House Review
The Northridge Review
Sinking City
(mac)ro(mic)
Palette Poetry
Denver Quarterly
Verse of April
Random Sample Review
New Delta Review
Fractured Lit
Washington Writers Publishing House
Southeast Review
Sundog Lit
CRAFT
Barrelhouse
Sundress Publications
The Johannesburg Review of Books
EX/POST MAGAZINE
Puerto del Sol
fresh.ink
The Adroit Journal
Apogee Journal
Porcupine Literary
Santa Fe Writers Project
Spooky Girlfriend Press
Spork Press
Vox Viola Literary Magazine
Human/Kind Journal
Drunk Monkeys
Digging Press
Second Factory
The Arkansas International
Meridian
Witness Magazine
F(r)iction
The Believer
River Mouth Review
Midnight Breakfast
Poetry Northwest
KAIROS
Pinwheel Journal
Tahoma Literary Review
Baltimore Review
Sycamore Review
BOAAT Press
The West Review
Skull+Wind Press
Vagabond City Lit
The Cincinnati Review
Siblíní Journal
Ovenbird Poetry
Grimoire Magazine
Long Day Press
Oyez Review
Cosmonauts Avenue
So to Speak
Baest Journal
Bluestem
Stillhouse Press
Acre Books
Shenandoah
Cream City Review
Brevity
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
Barren Magazine
Taco Bell Quarterly
Exposition Review
Mount Island
The Woven Tale Press
Mom Egg Review/ MER VOX
thezine71
PANK
Twyckenham Notes
Salamander Magazine
Hanging Loose Press
Split Rock Review and Split Rock Press
Arkana
The Literary Review
Women Empowered-India
The Common
Kenyon Review
Green Writers Press
The Hopper
Beloit Poetry Journal
Prospectus: A Literary Offering
Hamby Stern Publishing
One Story
Lucky Jefferson
Alien Magazine
Marías at Sampaguitas
Sixth Finch
Music & Literature
Lost Balloon
Wildness/Platypus Press
NUNUM
Gulf Coast
Helen: a literary magazine
Writers Resist
Harpur Palate
Ecotone
Carve Magazine
Evergreen Review
CONSEQUENCE Magazine
failbetter
Chestnut Review
Open Pen
Ploughshares
Small Beer Press
Points in Case
Sweet Lit
Bennington Review
New South Journal
Pidgeonholes
Birdcoat Quarterly
Scriptor Press New England
Hoxie Gorge Review
AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought
The Coachella Review
Colorado Review
Boulevard
The Kneeland Center for Poetry, Inc.
The Elevation Review
L’Éphémère Review
The Santa Ana River Review
Brick, A Literary Journal
Capsule Stories
Booth
The Journal
Fugue
Swamp Ape Review
Sibling Rivalry Press
Jellyfish Review
cahoodaloodaling
Screen Door Review
Hobo Camp Review
Coriolis Company
Foglifter Journal and Press
No Contact
Milk Candy Review
Off Assignment
Bloof Books
Gordon Square Review
Burrow Press
GlitterMOB
The Drum Literary Magazine
Vol.1 Brooklyn
The Florida Review
Aquifer: The Florida Review Online
Variety Pack
Sonora Review
Homology Lit
XRAY Literary Magazine
SmokeLong Quarterly
Words Without Borders
Longleaf Review
Pithead Chapel
FlashBack Fiction
YesYes Books
Vinyl
The Electric Rail
Empty House Press
Blackbird
CHEAP POP
EX/POST MAGAZINE
Otis Nebula
The Hellebore Press
HUES Foundation
Redivider
Paper Dragon
aurora journal
Gulf Stream Literary Magazine
The Good Life Review
***
If your publication stands with us and would like its name added to this letter, please email [email protected].
***
This is an invitation for solidarity. Solidarity isn’t just words, but deliberate and consistent action. The listed journals have made the decision to stand up and say they support the dismantling of systemic power structures that harm. Keep them honest. Email them when they don’t keep their word.
Tier 1: Sign the letter.
We invite publications to sign our solidarity statement indicating that we support, see, and affirm all Black lives.
Tier 2: Amplify monthly messages.
We aim to disseminate current information on equity initiatives and grassroots organizers to literary partners as a resource and as a means to regularly inform readers that anti-racism is an ongoing commitment. An Offing team consultant will generate ten months of brief announcements on equity, racism, and literary arts, which we ask you to amplify on your social media, Patreon, and/or newsletters.
Tier 3: Restructure
For mastheads that are predominately white, we invite you to carefully review recent guidance from Hope Wabuke, “20 Questions for Organizations Starting Anti-Racist Work.” We ask that you intentionally and vulnerably reflect on publishing’s role in this nation’s oppressive infrastructure, examine how you might engage with voices beyond your comfort moving forward, and establish transparency regarding what engagement you’ve translated to actionable steps.
Tier 4: Publicly Acknowledge Support for Black Lives Matter
We invite all partners to add a link on their literary website to the Black Lives Matter carrd (https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/) to provide readers access to BLM-endorsed strategies that support change locally and worldwide.
Updated: June 19, 2020
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Rumpus original art by Dmitry Samarov.
