That was quite the response and it seems like we're going to get into it - but first, let me get a few things straight about some assumptions you've made. I have no desire to continually erase black and brown people and you need to read more of my work and not simply the comments. For example, in this piece https://medium.com/p/d64a3f8e48b8 - I make the point that consistently insisting upon inserting black actors into white stories, or re-writing white stories does a disservice to other stories that are available from other cultures around the world. When we live in a polarised society, where saying anything but the approved view of the loudest person in the room gets you labelled 'racist' then you don't live in a society which can find its way to a solution. So, on the contrary, I don't think we need to erase Black and brown voices - but we should pay careful attention to which voices are speaking the loudest and what they're saying. I'm a big fan of both Estacious White and Steve QJ and think they bring balance and nuance to discussions. I'm less a fan of people who couch everything with thinly veiled prejudice against an entire racial group.

My speciality is advocacy and participation - first with children and then under mental health law. Both of which disproportionately affect BAME communities. So yes, participation and advocacy are in my field of expertise - and to enact systemic change, you have to bring people together. Fostering an atmosphere of exclusion, no matter how well intentioned isn't going to bring about the changes you require. What this publication has done with its attitude towards white writers is create a hostile barrier - exactly how is that going to help?

I am in no way suggesting she is a better writer, I am suggesting that the ability to write is unrelated to skin colour and skin colour should play no part in the decision making process. Ideally the process would be done entirely blind and submissions would be anonymous.

And yes, I agree... .representation does matter, but you cannot create a two-tier system in an inclusive society. You cannot on the one hand insist on racial harmony and on the other hand advocate for separation. It's apartheid by the backdoor and it will result in the same outcomes - you and I might disagree on that, but that's a fundamental point about how you resolve the problems created by racism.

Here's my solution. You ensure there are enough people from all racial groups selecting the work - then you invite people to write about a topic - and if your selectors are diverse enough and your writers are anonymised, what you will get is the best writing. You do not have to focus on 'lived experience' or the identity of the writer - you have to focus solely on the quality of the writing. Wealthy White folks have socially engineered the game in their favour for too long - you don't solve the problem by doing the exact opposite engineering; you get it by removing the over focus on skin colour.

And yes, perhaps the woman didn't have the experience required but that rejection needed to be given on the quality of what she had written not on who she was. There's a difference there you seem to be missing.

And yes, ABA writing is well known... that's why I believe we should anonymise all writers and improve the selection process. Not just for writing, but for University applications, job interviews, literally everything where racial bias (whether against Black people or White people) is erased entirely. That daily discrimination does bother me - but I don't think you're correct in how you think the problem should be solved.... and rather than have those discussions, I'm accused of erasing black voices and told discrimination doesn't bother me - you are making a lot of assumptions there.