Dallas Justice Now Demands Texas Observer Hire Black Reporting Staff Immediately

• The Texas Observer appears not to have a single Black person on staff member or a single person of color in leadership; concerns raised to leadership by DJN met by silence

Dallas Justice Now, an organization focused on the betterment of the Black community in Dallas, is demanding that Texas Observer immediately begin hiring Black correspondents and editors. Currently, the publication appears to have no Black staff members whatsoever. This is a grave concern given the fact that their coverage around Black issues has been lacking different nuanced perspectives.

Over the past week, Dallas Justice Now has attempted to raise these concerns through emails sent to Texas Democracy Foundation (the organization overseeing the Texas Observer) President Lize Burr and Texas Observer Interim Executive Director Loren Lynch.

Neither has replied to our notes.

Dallas Justice Now President Adekoye Adams said the following:

“Newsrooms must reflect the diversity of the communities they cover. The fact that Texas Observer could not see fit to appoint even a single Black person in a state where African Americans are the third largest ethnic group is truly disturbing. We have unfortunately seen a particular white male Texas Observer correspondent harass Black people, make false assumptions, and denigrate us. We have seen this same correspondent fail to understand the trauma of abuse caused to black women by his actions. These actions illustrate the need for immediate change. While we are  troubled by the lack of response from Texas Observer’s leadership team, we remain open to dialogue with them and hope we can help them create a publication that covers our community with respect.”