PRX Racism Scandal Part Four
PRX is a “nonprofit public media company” that promotes podcasting. In 2020, PRX had a festive racism scandal. I recently went to their staff page. CEO Kerri Hoffman, who was at the heart of the racism scandal, is still in the driver’s seat. A few pictures down is “Byron Green-Calisch Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility.”
In the past four years, DEI has become somewhat of a punch line. It is interesting to note the original acronym was DEIA. Maybe if this had been branded IDEA, things would have worked out better.
The earlier PRXRS centered around CEO Hoffman touching the hair of Palace Shaw, a PRX Community Manager. In the staff photo, Dr. Green-Calisch sports a healthy set of dreadlocks. One wonders if CEO Hoffman has ever touched them. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. There is more to the PRX racism scandal story. part one part two part three part four
[…] @yourpaljonathan“I was angry, frustrated, and frankly embarrassed to read a letter from a Black employee of PRX who was not treated with the respect that she deserved while working there. I don’t work for PRX, but they are the company that owns Radiotopia, which distributes my show.” PG has never met, much less become pals with, @yourpaljonathan. PG is not sure what PRX is, except that it has something to do with podcasts. It probably involves financial support, which makes one wonder why podcasters would publicly call out an organization that gives them money. The tweet above was retweeted by one of these shows, @TheTruthFiction. This is how PG found out about this. The sensible reaction to seeing a racism tweet is to ignore it, and move on. Unfortunately, PG had a weak moment, and sent a reply. @chamblee54 “are you going to share the letter with us? how do we know that BEOP is not the problem, and conveniently blaming her own issues on racism? it would not be the first time” Before you can say 240 characters, there was a reply. @evantessuraea “I’ve read the letter, you can find it” @rvanroon “For now Jonathan and Helen are talking shit. Prove what the former employee writes is the truth.” @HelenZaltzman “It has been confirmed to me by several sources, and some of what the employee mentions is racially specific. Other things are statistically demonstrable. We’re “talking shit” until proven otherwise to you? Fuck off yourself.” @HelenZaltzman has a very fine show on PRX, The Allusionist. In an ironic touch, the last episode was “Allusionist 120. Shine Theory.” Shine is sometimes used as a derogatory term for African Americans. At some point, we should ask, what is PRX, aka Public Radio Exchange? “The PRX Exchange is a nonprofit Internet-based service for distribution, review, and licensing of radio programming.” Radiotopia is the arm of PRX that PG is most familiar with. “Radiotopia, from PRX, is a curated network of extraordinary, cutting-edge podcasts. Radiotopia empowers independent producers to do their best work, grow audience and increase revenue. … is a partnership between PRX and Roman Mars, creator of 99% Invisible, supported by the Knight Foundation.” Radiotopia, and all of her shows, conducts fund raising drives. The tip jar is always on the counter. Some people wonder why @HelenZaltzman is so eager to wash nonprofit laundry on twitter. @chamblee54 “If this matter is not publicly resolved to your satisfaction, will you continue to take money from @prx? Or will you look for a more “woke” source of revenue?” Finally, curiosity got the best of PG, and he decided to read the letter. After consultations with Mr. Google did not uncover the letter, PG found a twitter thread. Here are four tweets from the thread. The first is the introduction. The next three deal with specific grievances by BEOP. They are presented in order of appearance, which is presumably the order of importance. @freepublicradio “A Thread… Recently, a black woman who worked for @prx sent an email to her colleagues to let them know why she was leaving the organization. Here are some highlights:” “-CEO Kerri Hoffman touched a this black womans hair without her permission making her feel violated. This issue was brought to HR and they did nothing, but defend Kerri Hoffman and tell the offended woman “I am sorry if that made you feel othered.” “-PRX refused to pay this black woman more than 48K a yr in her position. She later found out that co-workers who have the same position & responsibilites as her, & who have less experience, & who she trained, both started their positions 7K & 5K more than the cap she was told.” “-She knew she could no longer be a part of PRX after an all-staff meeting following George Floyd’s murder. “There was no organizational acknowledgment of George Floyd’s murder or the uprisings until over a week past his death despite having a large office in Minneapolis..” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. UPDATE: The actual letter has turned up. The ladie’s name is Palace Shaw. The letter has a few more details. The Hair touching story is like something out of a bad romance novel. “Early on into my time as the Community Manager our CEO, Kerri Hoffman, touched my hair without my consent, it was a total violation. She saw me from outside working late at the Podcast Garage, and came in to touch my hair, put her fingers into my top bun, immediately after she commented on my “distinct profile.” That moment deeply disturbed me. I brought it to HR and they chose to defend Kerri by not acknowledging the obviously racialized nature of the interaction, which I was very clear about. I was told, “I am sorry if that made you feel othered.” There is more to the PRX racism scandal story. part one part two part three part four […]
[…] PRX Racism Scandal was featured at chamblee54 this past wednesday. It is about Palace Shaw, a young lady of color. Until recently, PRX employed Ms. Shaw. The employment ended badly. Ms. Shaw was not quiet about it. The alleged racism got the non profit agency a few minutes of unwanted attention. There is nothing like woke silliness for cheap amusement. The bad boss letter featured complaints of hair touching, pay inequality, and insufficient concern over social issues. The hair touching incident was a purple prose classic: “… our CEO, Kerri Hoffman … saw me from outside working late at the Podcast Garage, and came in to touch my hair, put her fingers into my top bun, immediately after she commented on my “distinct profile.”” A white man, like PG, can be confused by hair touching hysteria. It might be more of a woman thing. PG has been told many times, in angry tones, never touch a black ladies hair. This is despite the fact that PG has absolutely zero desire to touch a black lady’s hair. Apparently, this is a big thing with black women. Palace Shaw left a $48k job, in large part because someone touched her hair. Salary inequality is as old as working for wages. Sometimes it is justified, but usually it is not. Ms. Shaw mentions that co-workers, doing the same job, were paid more. The race of these co-workers is not specified. In the Podcast Garage website, staff pictures are displayed. (Ms. Shaw models the distinct profile.) The other “Community Manager” is Se’era Spragley Ricks, a lady of color. “Everyone at PRX should know that each characteristic on the list of White Supremacy Culture Characteristics is fully expressed in the workplace …” The WSC document is curious. It lists many so-called sins of management. It is tough to see how exactly this becomes white supremacy. In fact, the WSC document states “Organizations that are people of color-led or a majority people of color can also demonstrate many damaging characteristics of white supremacy culture.” Does PRX express every characteristic on the list? Who knows. Palace Shaw used to co-host a podcast. “The Whitest Cube is a podcast about the exclusionary history of art institutions from the perspective of people of color.” The motto: “Museums are really sensitive to critique. We decided we don’t care.” The show lasted seven episodes. The PRX story is playing out. Top bun enthusiast Kerri Hoffman sent out a heartfelt letter, promising to do better. This prompted a reply, saying this is not good enough. There was also a survey sent out, to anyone who cared to participate. One of the questions is a crowd pleaser: “For current donors/financial supporters: How much would you be willing to increase your current pledge if PRX makes necessary changes to address its white supremacy culture?” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. There is more to the PRX racism scandal story. part one part two part three part four […]
[…] “Everyone at PRX should know that each characteristic on the list of White Supremacy Culture Characteristics is fully expressed in the workplace …” The first time I ever heard of WSC was a scandal at PRX. The story about WSC yesterday got me to take a look at PRX, and how they were doing, WSC wise, in the 30 months since the scandal broke. When in doubt, have an outside study done. PRX hired Prince Lobel Tye LLP to investigate. “Palace Shaw, a Black woman and former employee of Public Radio Exchange, lnc. (“PRX”), sent an email to all staff in which she recounted what she described as the “systematic mistreatment” she experienced that prompted her to resign from her position. … The investigation did not uncover any evidence of unlawful discrimination or anything to suggest that any PRX policy was violated related to Ms. Shaw’s employment. However, there was some evidence that microaggressions and unconscious bias, while not unlawful, may have adversely affected Black, indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) employees, including Ms. Shaw. … there is nothing to suggest that Ms. Shaw was ever treated adversely because of her race or gender, the touchstone of a cognizable discrimination complaint based on her being a Black woman. No singular reason emerged as to why the Black women to whom Ms. Shaw alluded left PRX. They all did so for different reasons, and none of the three cited mistreatment because they were Black women as a motivating reason for leaving PRX. However, the investigation uncovered signs of what can be described as unconscious bias and “microaggressions” that tended to make the work experience for some BIPOC employees difficult. … These types of complaints were not universal among BIPOC, and some said they had never experienced unconscious bias or microaggressions.” “In April 2021, PRX hired Byron Green as senior director of DEI.” Current: “A October 2020 investigation … did uncover what it called unconscious biases and microaggressions that made work difficult for BIPOC employees at PRX. How have you been working to address issues of inherent biases and microaggressions?” Green: “Straight on. Notably we’ve done emotional intelligence, identity development and unconscious bias training at large. …” PRX CEO Kerri Hoffman, whose hair-touching sparked this drama, is still in charge at PRX. Aggrieved employee Palace Shaw has turned up at Ten Percent Happier. “The Dalai Lama’s GUIDE TO HAPPINESS. We went halfway around the world to find out what it actually takes to become happier. Journey with us and learn how to train your mind to be happier over time alongside the most qualified people on the planet—including the Dalai Lama.” TPH recently featured Ms. Shaw on a podcast episode, Why The Tears, about the difficulties some people have with crying. The transcript does not include the word “white.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. “Meeting of UCAPAWA (United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America) in Bristow OK.” Russell Lee was the photographer, in February 1940. There is more to the PRX racism scandal story. part one part two part three part four […]
[…] courage to continue. · There is more to the PRX racism scandal story. part one part two part three part four · The Truth is hosted by Jonathan Mitchell. On August 10, 2020, @yourpaljonathan sent out this […]
[…] the CEO of PRX, touched her hair. Chamblee54 wrote about this controversy. 081120 081620 030523 081324 1017-1051 – This was a saturday morning. I did 56:17, with no foot problems. The first show […]