‘The Flash’ Commits To Hiring More ‘Black and Brown Writers, Directors, Actors and Producers of All Genders’
One aspect of the physical protests against police violence, incited by the death of George Floyd, has been a reckoning in the entertainment industry. Streaming services have made content relating to black stories available for free to amplify their work. Hollywood stars have committed and called upon others to hire more black talent. The Flash is a show that has joined the movement.
On June 8, The Flash show runner Eric Howell posted an announcement on social media. He fired actor Hartley Sawyer when some offensive racist and misogynistic tweets of Sawyer’s came to light. Howell continued with a commitment to add even more people of color to the show in the future.
‘The Flash’ will be hiring very specifically soon
Wallace is black, and black actors portray the West family on The Flash. However, Wallace sees the need for more inclusion. The show is on hiatus, which began early due to production shutdowns over coronavirus (COVID-19). Wallace is looking to make season 7 different.
“I, too, am committed to bringing permanent change to the work environment here on The Flash,” Wallace wrote. “Yes, this is a family show. But it’s for all families. That includes Black and Brown ones. In order to facilitate this, I will continue to find Black and Brown writers, directors, actors and producers of all genders to help tell Flash stories.”
More inclusion makes it harder to persecute
Wallace was fired up to tell more diverse stories. He hopes telling stories of people of color will normalize diversity and make it harder for people to commit the acts of violence that led to these protests. The Flash can certainly be a vehicle for some of those stories.
“Their stories are part of the American narrative, too, and must be heard,” Howell continued. “The more you hear and see us, the more you will begin to recognize one simple fact: We’re human beings too. Every time a Black or Brown life is harassed, harmed or murdered, as in the case of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many others, our entire country fractures and moves further and further away from any moral authority we often claim to have in the world.”
Shows like ‘The Flash’ can stand up against racism
The Sawyer incident also illuminated for Wallace the harassment people of color and women still face in the world. That, combined with the protests standing up against it, fed into his resolve to hire more diverse talent for The Flash.
“At present, our country still accepts and protects the continual harassment – unconscious or otherwise – terrorizing and brutalizing of Black and Brown people, which is far too often fatal,” Wallace wrote. “That’s why our country is standing up once again and shouting, ‘ENOUGH!’ and taking to the streets to bring about active change.”
Wallace continued to call out the injustices outside of Hollywood too.
“Murder is not democracy,” Wallace wrote. “Systemic and institutional white privilege is not equality. Suppressing the free press with violence is not liberty. The only way for you to be free is for all of us to be free. #BlackLivesMatter”
