My Fusion post links SFPD racist texting scandal to the KKK via the Richmond “Cowboys”….and a salute to Women Journalists

My first “real” journalism article for Fusion on the Yahoo! – ABC News Network.

When I read about the San Francisco PD racist texting scandal, it brought to mind the landmark police abuse case in Richmond, CA that my mother had worked on in the 1980s. I interviewed my mom and was able to connect the dots between my memories, her memories and online research to show how the current racism in Bay Area police departments is directly connected to white attitudes in the pre-Civil Rights era Deep South. Now, I’ve written for a lot of online outlets, but this was the first time I was writing for a news outlet. And it nearly killed me. The level of research and fact checking was so overwhelming that I was relieved to go back to the relatively cushy job of writing fiction.

In fact, on Twitter on Monday I declared it #SaluteWomenJournalists Day. I sent shoutouts to my favorite feminists in the journalism field. Wow. I never realized just how hard their work is. And I was working with the editor Latoya Peterson, founder of Racialicious, a totally sympathetic African American woman. I have no idea how women journalists do it.

dear #womenjournalists, you are rocks stars. last week i worked on a real journalism story with facts and everything & it nearly killed me.

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

Crazy #SaluteWomenJournalists Day S/O to @LatoyaPeterson & other indy innovators breaking into the mainstream with progressive perspectives

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

so i am dubbing today #SaluteWomenJournalists day. S/O to @JamilahLemieux @jennpozner @schemaly @sarahkendzior @daisyhernandez @Pamharris

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

yes, internet, i am dubbing today #SaluteWomenJournalists day. more S/Os to @arlenedavila1 @aurabogado @jesshopp @JessicaValenti @drmcclain

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

And of course I am forgetting a ton of people b/c that requires RESEARCH. so help me by tweeting them out on #SaluteWomenJournalists hashtag

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

& the hardest part was that my story had background in the 80s *gasp* before the internet. so I had to do REAL RESEARCH. it nearly killed me

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

from now on, i'ill stick to what i know well: opinion-based journalism. A MILLION TIMES EASIER than investigative and news reporting. sheesh

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

how do you do it, women journalists? especially w/ kids? by the time i was done parenting to get to revise, i nearly missed the news cycle!!

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

don't get me wrong. i was excited to write for a news outlet. & it was a good story. but excitement wore off long before 4th round of edits

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

i think i'll go back to the relatively cushy and simple life of writing a #novel and leave the news journalism to the big girls. #amwriting

— A y a d e L e o n (@AyadeLeon) March 23, 2015

 

So I was really deep in my fiction and forgot to promote when the story came out on Monday. So here it is. My first (and probably last) foray into real news journalism. Enjoy!

 

Change you can’t believe in: How a police texting scandal echoes San Francisco’s racist past

				Change you can’t believe in: How a police texting scanda… While San Francisco is considered a progressive haven in the U.S., there’s another San Francisco that’s built on a legacy of decades of imported racism.
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