Mochi Mag Feature: Taking Hollywood by Storm—Diverso Uplifts Writers of Color

On March 22, 2021, Mochi Magazine featured Diverso on their Black Allyship column—a space dedicated to building solidarity amongst the Asian American and Black community. Through articles, resources, and opinion calling for action and opening discussion, Black Allyship @ Mochi aims to educate and invigorate the Asian American community into a decisive, anti-racist stance.

Giannina Ong, a contributor for Mochi Mag and student at the University of Toronto, interviews our team members, Matt Zhang and Mallom Liggon, on their efforts in the Black Writers Initiative:

“Black writers are Black people, and in that case they still must deal with the unique way anti-Blackness impacts all facets of society. To begin, Hollywood’s entryways: unpaid internships and underpaid assistant jobs are already unattainable to a lot of young Black writers who can’t afford these opportunities,” Liggon says. “For Black writers that do get that chance, they often are constricted to telling stories that reflect only one slice of the Black experience. As a Black screenwriter myself currently in film school, I’m one of two in my entire program. I used to intern at a production company where I was the only Black intern, let alone Black person, in the entire building.”

Zhang adds that the barriers for Black writers are multiplicitous: “Not having someone in the selection room who looks like you and understands your perspective; not having the financial means to relocate to LA for unpaid entry-level work; and not having the access to networks many more privileged families in show business have deep roots in. These systemic issues require systemic solutions. We designed Black Writers in Focus to directly address and overcome these barriers to entry.”

Read the rest of the article here and check out other articles on Mochi Magazine’s Black Allyship column.

Diverso’s welcome ceremony for participating students
Credit: Diverso