“Black ambition in post is often met with belittling, hostility, discouragement, and lack of opportunity.  I watch as my white counterparts get to enjoy their ambition.  Some one is always there to help them achieve.  White Assists turned Editors tell stories of how they are “forced” to cut by their Editors.  I’ve barely slept in over three years, as I work on side projects, in addition to my demanding work schedule.  If you get a compliment from an EP, especially one that shares your complexion, you cut less.  Despite cutting many scenes, I’ve never gotten a co-editor credit.”

– Anonymous

“I am a white male, who in 2014 spent four months Post-Coordinating for a documentary pilot. Working directly with me on deliverables and cuts was a black female Assistant Editor who was incredibly knowledgeable in every stage – from ingestion to final outputs and troubleshooting.

Both of us were working under an Executive Producer and Co-Executive Producer (older, white males) who would routinely ask for screeners and uploads with little-to-no warning, and with no sense of how long it takes to output an hour-long episode. The AE would have to fight these expectations every time, and constantly reiterate that a buffer time was needed to properly export and QC any uploads going to the Network.

The routine became this: Producers would ask the AE for a cut, she would reply that time was needed to finish the output, and unhappy with her answer, they would turn to me. I would tell them verbatim what our AE said, and only then would they be satisfied – it quickly became apparent that even if my response was the same as our AE’s, they were only satisfied after hearing it from me (a white male with a fraction of our AE’s knowledge and experience).”

– Anonymous Ally

“I was constantly micromanaged by those above me. I was rarely trusted to write an email without it being screened by White coworkers.  My work was scrutinized and triple checked, even if it was done correctly the first time. Anytime I attempted to take initiative to prove I could handle more responsibility – I was met with frustration and anger. I watched my White co-workers operate with a professional freedom I had no access to. They weren’t micromanaged. No one had to screen their emails before they were sent out. They could take on tasks without being asked, and they were applauded for their initiative. When White co-workers make mistakes on the job, it’s usually assumed that they simply made a mistake. When I make a mistake, it’s assumed that I don’t know what I’m doing. There is a fear that Black people are less educated and incapable of being professional without having their hands held. Not only is this absurd but it prevents Blacks in post from being able to properly grow and advance in this very competitive industry. I watched as my White friends advanced much quicker in their post career by doing half of the grunt work that I did. I felt like I was expected to be perfect at all times. Any mistake was grounds to not be trusted ever again. That rarely ever happened to my White co-workers. They could make mistakes and learn from them. They weren’t expected to be perfect. But I was. If I wasn’t perfect, I wasn’t trusted with my responsibilities. That just isn’t fair.”

– Anonymous