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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Writing Conference Canceled Because Of Too Many White People |
| 2017-08-12 |
| [DAILYCALLER] A Minnesota writing conference was canceled Wednesday after people complained about the lack of diversity in the line-up of writers that were going to attend. The organizers of the Loft Literary Center’s conference, aimed at teaching people how to write young adult novels, scrapped their plans when they learned that all the speakers but one were white, reports the Star Tribune. "We have set a goal for ourselves to be inclusive and to work toward equity, and we didn’t think the conference would live up to that mission," Britt Udesen, executive director of the Loft, said Wednesday. "We made a mistake." Twenty-two authors were set to speak at the event, but only one had an ethnic background. William Alexander, winner of a National Book Award, is a Cuban-American author. Udesen said the event was canceled in part because of the lack of diversity in the line-up, but also because not enough people were going to attend. Udesen added that they invited more than 30 people of color to speak at the conference, but none accepted the invitation. "It’s MEA [teachers’ conference] weekend, so a lot of local writers were unavailable, or a lot of them had just recently taught with us and they thought it would be repetitive," Udesen said. One author criticized the children’s conference for not having enough diversity in the line up in general. "The times I’ve been to that conference it has felt stiflingly white, definitely stiflingly older white woman, stiflingly suburban," young adult author Shannon Gibney said. "And because of that it hasn’t been a space where, as a newer writer of color, it is really useful for me." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #16 |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2017-08-12 19:32 |
| #15 Supremacist spuds in colcannon? Just black bile and cabbage for Shannon! One stygian droplet That falls from her chaplet Could blacken Buchanan or Bannon. Always after me Lucky Charms. |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2017-08-12 19:29 |
| #14 All the speakers were white, ergo the conference was cancelled because of a lack of diversity? That is inane, idiotic, silly and stupid beyond belief. Grow up. They've gone way overboard with this diversity nonsense. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2017-08-12 17:38 |
| #13 Shaun King attended? |
| Posted by: Frank G on the Road 2017-08-12 14:16 |
| #12 So they needed 2.5 writers of color? They could invite Rachel Dolezal and Elizabeth Warren, then hope that half of a writer would show up. |
| Posted by: gorb 2017-08-12 13:50 |
| #11 And the entertainment was a one-armed accordion player. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2017-08-12 13:35 |
| #10 It was because of the bring-your-own buffet after the conference; 25 jars of mayonaise and no salsa. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2017-08-12 13:15 |
| #9 Twenty-two authors were set to speak at the event So they needed 2.5 writers of color? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-08-12 10:28 |
| #8 Ah yes - Shannon Gibney: Shannon Gibney, an English faculty member at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, told MCTC student newspaper City College News in a video interview that three white students filed a complaint against her with the school after a discussion on structural racism in one of her communications classes. In the interview, which was posted by the college newspaper to YouTube, Gibney says a white student interrupted her lesson to ask “Why do we have to talk about this in every class?” Another white male in the class then chimed in, Gibney told the student paper, saying he didn’t understand either. “It’s like people are trying to say that white men are always the villains, the bad guys. Why do we have to say this?” the student asked, according to Gibney. Gibney said that when she told the students that they could file a complaint with the college’s legal affairs department if they were so unhappy with the discussion, they took her up on her offer. That led to an official reprimand from the school in early November, she claims. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2017-08-12 09:26 |
| #7 We have set a goal for ourselves to be inclusive and to work toward equity... There's that word again. It may not mean what you think it means. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2017-08-12 07:51 |
| #6 young adult author Shannon Gibney Sigh. |
| Posted by: Black Bart Bumble9289 2017-08-12 05:27 |
| #5 NBF spinning in his grave, laughing? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-08-12 04:07 |
| #4 Quick! Bury it! It doesn't fit the narrative! |
| Posted by: gorb 2017-08-12 02:43 |
| #3 Well, yes, since white isn't a color (or something like that). |
| Posted by: Raj 2017-08-12 01:03 |
| #2 So... white people aren't 'ethnic'? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2017-08-12 00:38 |
| #1 William Alexander, winner of a National Book Award, is a Cuban-American author. 'Ethnic' when they need them to be, 'White Hispanic' when they don't. Funny how that works! |
| Posted by: Raj 2017-08-12 00:31 |