Earlier: WASHINGTON POST: "Black Professional Women Are Exhausted. They’re Finally Claiming The Time To Rest"
From the Hollywood Reporter:
Jeanell English Breaks Silence on What Led to Her Exit From Film Academy EVP of Impact and Inclusion
“I became the recipient of a steady flux of micro- and macro-aggressions,” English says in an L.A. Times column after leading the organization’s initiatives to address underrepresentation across the industry since July 2022.
BY ETAN VLESSING
OCTOBER 17, 2023 7:46AM
Jeanell English has opened up about what forced her to recently leave her role as executive vp of impact and inclusion at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences following a year confronting an industry distrusting or outright criticizing calls for change.
“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,” English wrote in a Los Angeles Times column published Tuesday.
English was promoted to the then-newly created position in July 2022, reporting directly to Academy CEO Bill Kramer, as she helped address underrepresentation across the industry for greater inclusion and equity.
She recalled encountering resistance to collaboration and change early on, which she says ultimately undermined her personal and physical health. “I became the recipient of a steady flux of micro- and macro-aggressions. … I felt the pressure of remaining thoughtful, poised and articulate while coaching, counseling and responding to the needs of my colleagues also from marginalized communities and nursing my own wounds. The level of consensus-building needed to establish a foundation for the changes I encouraged demanded a level of mental agility and fortitude that was unsustainable,” English recounted. …
“My successes ultimately came at a cost — to my mental and physical health, my personal life, my joy. And what is life without joy?” English added. …
English joined a string of diversity and inclusion executives who have left their posts or been laid off recently, including Warner Bros. Discovery’s Karen Horne, Netflix’s Vernā Myers and Disney’s Latondra Newton.
