To the Publishers,
I write in regard to the resignations of Satya Nelms and Rachel Pastan, editors at The Swarthmorean. Rather, I write too late, I fear, in support of the turn you, the new publishers, took in hiring Rachel, and then in hiring Satya. I should have dropped this note a while ago, because, under the direction of these new editors, The Swarthmorean changed into a better local paper — one featuring journalism in the best sense of that word for the first time in all the years I’ve lived here. Yes, new features and articles were entertaining, but also some of the new writing educated me, an older white male, about the facts, feelings, and fears of my neighbors. I was not there during a discussion between the publishers and editor. But, the outcome of that discussion — the resignations — is a sad statement.
So, to the publishers, if you need to hear what I suspect will be a deluge of support from your readership for the direction you took in hiring Rachel and Satya — here is some. If subscriptions are a worry, I’ll take four. It is not too late to correct this. In his book, How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi makes the (forgiving) point that “racist and antiracist are not fixed identities” — that what we “do about racism in each moment” matters. This is a moment.
Steve DiNardo
Swarthmore