This week the show runner of superhero show Arrow announced an addition to their cast of the character Artemis from Young Justice. Young Justice's Artemis, however, was half-Vietnamese, while the actress tapped to play her in the upcoming Arrow season, Madison McLaughlin, is not. 

The Arrowverse, as it's called, is no stranger to whitewashing and misrepresentation. Sin, White Canary, Ra's al Ghul, Shado, Connor Hawke, Trajectory - comic book characters across three different shows have been whitewashed or misrepresented. Time and again, fans have grumbled and complained, but enough is enough.

The goal here is for this petition to gain enough traction before this season moves into production. That's a very limited window of time, and I realize some might consider this asking a lot. But is it so much to ask the writers to treat the comic book characters they claim to love with the proper respect, to acknowledge their rich and diverse heritage? What's more important, the convenience of the writers who are choosing to erase Artemis' history as a half-Vietnamese hero or ensuring accurate and true representation for POC in media?

Now, as I do not wish Madison McLaughlin to be suddenly out of a job, I have a proposed solution: allow her character of Evelyn Crawford Sharp to take on the superhero name and mantle she already has in DC comics, Starling. It would require very few edits, as I doubt the episodes being written currently have her already being Artemis, and it would be respectful to both the characters of Artemis Crock and Evelyn Sharp.

The only issue I can see the show having with this is that Starling is not as popular a character as Artemis currently. To that I say, if you're willing to whitewash and misrepresent characters simply to cash in on name/brand recognition, then you do not deserve the characters nor the recognition. By invoking the "Young Justice" brand while casting a misrepresented Artemis, the Arrow writers, casting directors, and producers have lied to their audience. If Arrow does portray their "Young Justice" Artemis as not being half-Vietnamese (with an appropriately cast actress), I will no longer be a willing participant in their money-making. I will never watch another show or project airing on the CW or that is developed by Berlanti Productions. My excitement over upcoming events such as Flashpoint or the TV-verse Superman is outweighed by my frustration and disgust at this repeated occurrence.

I am not asking anyone else to make that commitment with me. What I am asking you to do is sign this petition. Sign it, spread it, if you care at all about media representation of POC, if you purport yourself as someone who cares about these issues at all. Whether you've loved Arrow or hated it these last four years, whether you only watch Flash or Legends of Tomorrow, whether you watch none of them. Let them know that even if they force this casting through that they are not getting away with it, we see it and we are not content to sit back and let it continue anymore.