The Second City Agrees to Black Alums Open Letter for More Change (Supported by Latinx and LGBTQ+ Second City Members Too)
In response to Second City’s promise to change for the betterment of BIPOC and replacing of CEO/EP Andrew Alexander with Anthony LeBlanc, SNL’s Chris Redd sent out an open letter demanding Second City do more than they had outlined in their official statement. Much of that has to do with sexual harassment claims by black Second City members going nowhere, a creative environment with a pervasive racial bias against black artists, and more. Read the letter here.
Standing in solidarity with the black members and alums of Second City, many prominent Latinx and LGBTQ+ members of Second City stand in solidarity with that open letter.
Thusly, The Second City issued a second response, hearing the outcry for more change. They agreed to all the terms in their second official statement, going point-by-point and agreeing to truly creating an anti-racist environment, accreditation, investigating claims of abuse, harassment, and assault, and hiring a BIPOC owned Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion form. Read their letter in full here.
This is just the start of a wave of change in media and arts organizations across the board cleaning house and promising changes to have a truly inclusive and uplifting environment for BIPOC voices and dedicating themselves to anti-racism. It’s clear that they have to do better and, if they come up short again, they’re going to definitely hear about it.