98 Time February 15/February 22, 2021
THE COST OF
OPPORTUNITY
AS CREATIVE INDUSTRIES SEEK OUT MORE AND MORE
BLACK STORIES, ARTISTS FACE A COMPLICATED CHOICE
When i WroTe my firsT
movie script 10 years ago with
a close friend, he and I argued
about whether or not the main
characters should be Black. I be-
lieved then that we wouldn’t be
able to sell a movie with Black
protagonists.
Things are different now. In
the past few years, while pub-
lishers, film studios, stream-
ers and networks have shown a
surge of interest in Black stories,
I’ve sold a book, Black Magic:
What Black Leaders Learned
From Tragedy and Triumph; a
movie, One and Done, a story
about a Black high school bas-
ketball phenom who commits a
crime and resuscitates his dream
at a historically Black university;
and a television series, How to
Survive Inglewood, about a sub-
urban Black teenager who comes
of age and comes to terms with
his people after his parents’ ugly
divorce.
See a pattern? I don’t go out
pitching only Black projects. But
it’s clear that today, the word
Black is trendy in media market-
ing and boardrooms. It’s a buzz-
word. Blackness has become its
own niche vertical for highbrow
liberals. And within that vertical,
there’s a window of opportunity
for Black people to tell and sell
our stories. But seizing it comes
at a cost.
In my work as a writer, the
cost is wedging my projects
featuring Black protagonists
through development processes
run by white executives. To
make it to greenlight, I’m asked
to incorporate notes that dilute
the tone and shorthand I use to
reflect and resonate with BlackBY CHAD SANDERS
The Black Renaissance ESSAY