Former Diversity Chief For Movie Academy Opens Up About Brief Tenure: “My Black Skin, Femininity Are Of More Use To An Org As A Form Of PR”

deadline.com:

The former executive VP of impact and inclusion for the Movie Academy says she was “the recipient of a steady flux of micro- and macro-aggressions” while trying to improve the org’s representation, inclusion, and equity efforts.

In a column for the Los Angeles Times Tuesday, Jeanell English talked about the overwhelming amount of fear she encountered while tasked with facilitating “a more equitable awards process and organization.” English left her post in June after less than a year on the job.

She was appointed in July of 2022 to address underrepresentation across the industry. “I sat in the crossfire between the communities I was advocating for and those I was calling on to champion change.

On both sides, there was fear. Fear made it challenging for those who are underrepresented within the industry to trust that I had their best interest at heart,” she wrote. “There were people in positions of power who feared change, feared losing relevance, feared losing money … and feared being canceled.” “Fear created an impasse,” English wrote in the newspaper. “It fueled a scarcity mindset, as opposed to one of abundance.