We find it inappropriate that Vanessa Place is among those who will decide which panels will take place at AWP Los Angeles. We acknowledge Place's right to exercise her creativity, but we find her work to be, at best, startlingly racially insensitive, and, at worst, racist. We do not believe it is right that she have a hand in deciding whether panels having to do with race and identity will be a part of next year's AWP. Her recent work with "Gone with the Wind" re-inscribes that text's racism--she does not abate it--in the flesh of every descendant of slaves. Indeed, she herself claims to be constructing "a slave block" with the work.  AWP's stated desire for inclusivity and diversity in the panel makeup requires an atmosphere of trust on the part of POC, LGBTQIA, and Disabled panel applicants, and Place's racially insensitive, if not downright racist, projects violate that sense of trust. She furthers her career on the backs of Black ancestors--the hands that filled the master's pockets now fill hers. We ask that you remove her from her position of authority over writers of color.

Thank you for the work you do. We trust you will make the right decision in this instance.