Sisi Wei’s Remarks
In our webinar on Tuesday, November 10th, our day of action and education for DEI in public media, Sisi Wei from OpenNews gave an inspirational speech about her optimism for better, more diverse future for journalism. Thanks to volunteers for transcribing her remarks.
Hi everyone. I am so happy to be here in support of Public Media for All, and to tell you about my own journey doing this work, as well as what we’ve been doing at OpenNews to push for change in journalism. My name is Sisi Wei. I work at OpenNews where we are supporting a movement in journalism—one that is fighting for a future where all journalists can work in newsrooms that are anti-racist, equitable, inclusive, and collaborative…and where the communities that we’ve long ignored can trust in journalism again, or maybe for the first time ever.
I’m recording this video on November 6, which is three days after the US election, and before any final results have come out. But no matter who wins, what will always be true is how close the election was, and the message that sends to communities of color—journalists included. I was reading the New York Times this morning, and Roxane Gay had a wonderful op-ed. She wrote that what we’ve seen is that “we live in two countries. In one, people are willing to grapple with racism and bigotry. The other is committed to defending white supremacy and patriarchy at all costs.” Over the last few days, I’ve seen people of color react in so many different ways, ranging from heartbreak to exhaustion to fear. For many folks, and Roxane is included in this, such a close race isn’t even a surprise because they’ve always understood how racist the country and its systems have been.
And in moments like this, the work we do on the ground level can feel overwhelming, and the dreams of being able to live and work in a just and anti-racist industry…oh my gosh, that feels distant. But I don’t think anyone coming to today’s Day of Action is giving up. Of course, we all may need to take breaks once in a while. I’ve certainly needed that, because this work can be draining. But all of you who’ve shown up here today, even if it’s just to listen and learn at a moment when the world is overwhelming—that’s step one in taking action and showing solidarity.
The vision of Public Media for All itself is similar to a daydream that I’ve had for a while now. The idea that we could have journalism institutions that weave diversity, equity, and inclusion into their very nature…at the events we organize, in our coverage, on our staff, in their pay, in our leaders, and in the guidance and trust we get from our communities. That all sounds like a dream to me, because it’s so hard to find examples of organizations that truly live up to that standard in our industry. And honestly I used to just imagine what it might feel like to work at a place where DEI work wasn’t my burden or the burden of other POC, but rather something that my white colleagues proactively educated themselves about, constantly, and did the work to advocate for their POC colleagues and for a workplace that treats them equally and justly.
However, I have personally been doing this work for many years now, and this year there are two big initiatives that I’ve been really proud to kick off, because I think they’re really going to make a big difference. The first is Vision25. It’s a collaboration between OpenNews, the Online News Association, and the Maynard Institute to pursue change on a bigger scale—an industry-level scale, aimed at the ultimate goal of creating these anti-racist organizations that become what we’re calling “Institutions of Belonging.” Places where people of color actually feel like they truly belong, not just tolerated or simply included. And we’re looking to create social change in the way people think and act and treat each other, to meet the social change movement that the country finds itself in right now.
The second initiative is the DEI Coalition for Anti-Racist, Equitable, and Just Newsrooms, which is grassroots work in many ways. Alongside the OpenNews community, over a hundred people are already coming together to create these community spaces that are dedicated to organizing to help journalists who are in the fight to change their newsrooms learn from each other and give solidarity to one another. One of those community spaces will also be dedicated to managers who are committed to change, and who face their own challenges in how to make that change happen. So ultimately, the DEI Coalition is collective work done with the community to give anyone who wants to work and exert pressure and negotiate and demand, a place to learn and work together.
Vision25, the DEI Coalition, and Public Media for All—they all share something really important in common. It’s that anyone can help or participate in some way, and that our work centers around people and our collective agency to take action and demand better. Because doing this work across multiple initiatives with our different perspectives and passions, and our genuine interest and curiosity in people and telling stories—all of that enables us to better understand each other and take action together to create more just organizations and communities.
I started with a quote from Roxane’s op-ed today, and I wanted to close with one too—she is one of my favorite writers, after all. She wrote at the end of her op-ed, “This is America. A country desperately divided, and desperately flawed. The future of this country is uncertain, but it is not hopeless. I am writing to fight for that future, no matter what it holds. Are you?”
Thank you all for being here today, and for building this movement together.
