Editor’s Statement

June 5, 2020

Dear Readers,

The Yale Review stands with protesters against police brutality and the routine violence visited upon Black people in the United States. We are profoundly disturbed by the systemic cruelty and entrenched inequities of our nation. We are here to listen to our community, and we admire—passionately—the daily work toward justice and reparation that so many of our contributors and readers do. We are working to do our share to combat systemic racism and bigotry in our society, institutions, and selves.

Specifically, we have fellowships and initiatives underway to support Black writers, editors, students, and contributors, including a dedicated editorial fellowship at the magazine. Applications will open this fall. This is a first step, with others to come.

Because we have devoted our lives to language, it is essential to us that this statement not be performative. What needs to be said and done—the shifts in mindset, the restructuring of old hierarchies, the redistribution of material and immaterial resources—goes far beyond what I can articulate in this moment. Dismantling structural racism is not a short-term issue but must be a generational commitment. It is one we take extremely seriously.

Meghan O’Rourke