The last two years have been a test of how western societies treat their most underrepresented communities. The murder of George Floyd, as well as other forms of violence such as the treatment of Asian Americans during the pandemic, encouraged underrepresented people to speak out, once again, about how structural racism manifested in their respective industries. Blackout Tuesday was an initiative by two Black women working in the music industry that called on companies to carve out a day (2 June 2020) for honest reflection, and to forge plans to implement long-lasting change. Radio stations and TV channels altered their schedules to include moments of silence and discussion about diversity. It was an impressive show of support. But two years on, has anything actually changed?
It’s worth noting that before the social unrest of 2020, some substantial industry initiatives were already under way. Three years earlier, Netflix had started Strong Black Lead in order to amplify its content for audiences of colour. Since 2020, the channel has created Asian, LGBTQIA and Latin American counterparts called Golden, Most and Con Todo respectively. In 2016 UK Music launched the UK Music Diversity Report, an industry-wide survey that sought to accurately collect and publish the industry’s gender and ethnicity data.
But Blackout Tuesday called for more radical initiatives – a gutting and restructuring of the entire industry to make it more equitable. Expansive promises were made by the most powerful figures in TV and music. In music, the big three major record labels promised $225m to racial and social injustice organisations. The Black Music Coalition was founded by four leading Black music industry executives whose manifesto included “progression for Black employees” (in a response to the relative lack of Black people in senior positions) and “eradicating the pay gap” as it pertained to Black employees. In collaboration with YouTube, Spotify and the Musicians’ Union, the PRS Foundation created Power Up: a long-term initiative to support music creators and other industry professionals. Each year it funds as many as 20 Black music creators for up to £15,000 each, with access to mentoring and marketing support.
TV has had some success stories, but not without their own limitations. Channel 4 looked at its internal structure and external output in tandem. Collaborating with We Are Parable – a Black-owned company that consults media outlets, film festivals and other cultural organisations to platform Black cinema and TV – they introduced the Black to Front project: a day where new, original programming would feature predominantly Black cast members, writers, producers and directors. The programming included an episode of the sitcom Big Age, written by Bolu Babalola, and reality TV show Highlife, which featured wealthy Nigerian-British millennials. The day’s news coverage won a Bafta award.
Some criticised Black to Front, mainly on the basis that it was just one day. Much like some aspects of Black History Month, it risked being tokenistic; a public relations project to make the station look good rather than provide lasting change. But perhaps the criticism was premature. Teaming up with We Are Parable once again, in February 2022 Channel 4 announced a new scheme, Momentum, to train and mentor 60 Black filmmakers.
As well as Netflix’s existing initiatives, in late 2020 a flurry of Black sitcoms were added to the streamer, including Sister, Sister, Moesha and the Kelsey Grammer-produced Girlfriends. Most significantly, Netflix has pledged $63m for original content to fund its South African market, given the success of titles like Blood & Water, Savage Beauty and food show The Ultimate Braai Master. It’s a nice touch given that conversations on Black cinema often centre on Black western diasporas.
But in 2022, the streamer has seemingly fallen short on diversity behind the screen. At the beginning of the year, Netflix reported an upswing in Black executives in its diversity and inclusion report, most notably in senior positions – a jump from 10.7% to 13.3%. However, it’s evident that the company has been shaken by a significant loss of subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, at 200,000 – its first loss in a quarter in 10 years. A loss of a further 2 million is predicted in the second quarter. Since the loss, Netflix has cut around 150 jobs, with a reported 60 to 70 of them being from its diversity initiatives, including the aforementioned Strong Black Lead. This has undermined its diversity efforts, and sent a message that Black people who work behind the scenes know all too often – that our projects are often the first to be closed down in failing companies.
However, the proof is there that Black stories on TV can be huge successes – take Netflix’s own Top Boy, the crime drama When they See Us and other shows like I May Destroy You and Pose. Meanwhile, the popularity of Black music is stratospheric – genres such as R&B, hip-hop and urban contemporary music make up a large portion of popular culture.
All this poses a question: why has the growth of Black stories on screen and in music been exponential, but behind the scenes so stunted or slow to progress? It’s a tale as old as time. Black art in its many forms – be it music, art, cinema or TV – is easily absorbed then commodified by a diverse audience (and crucially white audiences) to the extent that it can become dominant in popular culture. But all the while, industry gatekeeping stubbornly resists internal change.
This isn’t to say that true change is impossible, and there have been a number of schemes created to help balance what we see on our screens and what goes on behind the scenes. For now, it’s important to champion the leaps that culture has made in sharing Black stories, but to remain vigilant and curious to the demographics in the boardrooms. Until white people are ready to loosen their grip on the industry, real change will remain out of reach.
Michelle Kambasha works in the music industry
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