A reporter and photographer had done a very powerful series for the Star Tribune on the children of those involved in drugs. They had accompanied police on raids, and photos of terrified children watching their parents being arrested were gripping.
One of the photos was of a young black man, sitting in a chair with his hands cuffed behind him, after he'd just been arrested. A T-shirt covered his head and face, down to his shoulders.
Its drama and strength as an image struck the white editors who had seen the photo.
A few black staff members saw the photo as the series was being edited. The posture of the man, coupled with his covered head, said "lynching" to them. First quietly and then not so quietly they became concerned — and offended — about the prospect of the Star Tribune running the photo.
There were several meetings about the photo that got very angry all the way around. This is when I got involved; I was not involved in the series in any other way.
The photographer and reporter (both white men) were upset that one of the most powerful images of the series was being questioned. It wasn’t a lynching, they said. It was a real event. Why should it be excluded because some people were too sensitive, they asked.
Some of the black staff members felt that their view of the photo was being dismissed as "wrong," even though it was what their experience and outlook told them.
The photo did not run with the series (although it was later entered in a contest by the photographer and won an award).
The conflict was one of the first after there were enough people of color in the newsroom to have this kind of debate. And as an editor both taking part (I was in favor of not running the photo) and watching the debate, I realized that having diversity in the workplace is going to mean having arguments sometimes — even very angry ones.
It also means that there won't always be a middle ground. (In this case, it was either run the photo or don't run it; no middle ground or compromise possible.) You can't invite bright people of different backgrounds and outlooks into a newsroom "as long as you see everything just the way we do." And why would you want to?
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Diversity Diaries
Diversity Diaries is a collection of true stories from newspaper people around the country who have experienced or observed pivotal moments in diversity.
10.04.01
