I remember a time when the odds of me writing about race for a national publication were relatively low. Growing up, I very rarely read any articles that spoke on the impact current affairs had on those from an Afro-Caribbean background. Fast forward to today, and I am happy to see that many young black journalists (including myself) are now being commissioned to write articles that consider the perspectives of Black British people.
When I decided to take the big leap and establish myself as a freelance writer, I would pitch to national publications on a weekly basis. However, I started to notice that my pitches all had one thing in common, they were all surrounding the topic of race. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing pieces that discuss race occasionally, but not every black journalist does, because let’s face it - there are times when talking about racial oppression and injustice can become both daunting and distressing.
It came to my attention after having a discussion with fellow black journalists, that many black journalists do sometimes feel pressured to pitch ideas that cover racial and cultural affairs. This pressure then deters many of them from pitching other ideas, out of fear of not being commissioned otherwise.