The “Gray Lady,” aka the New York Times, has had a storied past. She has stood at the center of controversies and victories and now is at the center of a historic milestone, but under the ouster of its former executive editor Jill Abramson, the lede has been buried—the ascension of the first African-American to lead this venerable institution, Dean Baquet.
Why is it that the fact that a woman has been relieved of her title at the paper is more significant than the fact that a Black man, for the first time in the history of the more than 160-year-old paper, has been named executive editor?
You could say that it is because we live in a “post–racial” society that his appointment has been all but ignored. There was no fanfare, no parade, just business as usual.
But is it? What can we expect? We now have a man of color, a brother, leading an institution that helps to set the tone and the direction of thought in America. At the helm of a paper read by millions, Baquet now has the opportunity to steer the direction of information disseminated in the U.S. and abroad. He holds the key to changing the way the world sees people of color, if he so chooses.
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