I sent the following letter to The New York Times editor, regarding their June 19, 2020 article, “The Confederate Flag Didn’t Bother Bubba Wallace. Until It Did.” It wasn’t published — perhaps because I sent it too late, perhaps because it’s too honest — but I wanted to share it with you.
Dear Editor,
The headline “The Confederate Flag Didn’t Bother Bubba Wallace. Until It Did.” is problematic. Nothing in Juliet Macur’s article supports that claim, so why give it that headline?
Certainly the Confederate flag bothered Bubba Wallace, but he cherishes his career and knew of the racism in the beginning. Like most Black people in white spaces, he waited until he’d safely risen through the ranks before mentioning racism.
We Black people leave racism unchecked for many reasons: Speaking up can get you fired. Most won’t believe you. We’re used to it.
Many Black people are sharing our experiences and taking down racists now because it’s a collective effort, largely due to the pandemic. It just means we had to wait to strike, not that we weren’t upset by racism before now.
My hope is that your writers never again suggest that racism doesn’t “bother” Black people, because it absolutely does.
Sincerely,
Megan Braden-Perry
