Hello.
My name is Noah Sanders and I'm the host and curator of the reading series The Racket.
On the evening of the 26th of March, in an attempt to continue the mission of The Racket while we are all sheltered-at-home, we hosted a virtual event - The Racket 40 : LIGHT - featuring eight readers sharing their writing. As soon as we opened the "doors" at 7PM a group of individuals infiltrated the online space, took over the screen and the audio and started sharing/saying truly offensive things about our readers and those who had come to the event. I was, at the time, away from the screen trying to get myself organized for the event and by the time I returned to the screen what they are now referring to as "zoom bombing" had been going on unchecked for several minutes. Horrible things were said and shown. I reacted as quickly as I could to remove all of the offending parties from the room and regain control. I then made the decision to continue on with the event.
First and foremost and I want to apologize to my readers and to the community. This was a terrible moment in what was supposed to be an evening meant to celebrate and continue to support the amazing Bay Area literary scene. The trauma inflicted on our readers and those in attendance needs to be acknowledged.
To the community, those who attended the event and to our readers - Allison Landa, Thea Matthews, Jennifer Lewis, Elizabeth Gonzalez James, Elizabeth Owuor, Hugh Behm-Steinberg, Tracey Knapp and Christine No - I would like to apologize from the very bottom of my heart and take responsibility for what I failed to do.
Though I believed at the time continuing the event was the best option, in hindsight, I see I should've put an end to it and to the traumatic, emotional weight it bore. For not doing this, I apologize.
I am new, like many of us, to the world of virtual reading events and though I thought I had done my due diligence in terms of research and conversation about setting up a safe space for our readers and our attendees, I clearly did not. And in not doing so I left open a dangerous door that was exploited in the worst possible way. In doing so, I failed to create a safe space, to provide the structure for an environment conducive to a group of artists sharing their work. In doing so, I allowed a collection of writers and human beings who I deeply respect to be subjected to hateful and offensive content. Part of this was my own naïveté towards technology, part of this was my own inability to imagine this sort of cruelty taking place.
Again, my most sincere apologies.
But apologies mean nothing if we don't seek change in their wake. Going forward - and we will keep moving forward with online events after some time to reflect and change because not doing so is admitting defeat in the face of hate and ignorance - we will be taking these actions:
1. Following the best practices and settings dictated by Zoom and recommended by those in the reading series community to prevent this sort of incident from occurring again. I am committed to enacting the precautionary measures to ensure a safe space for our readers going forward.
2. Employing a technical moderator for The Racket events from now on. What amounts to a bouncer for a virtual waiting room who will ensure that those entering are there to enjoy the evening and not spread hateful messages.
3. Continuing to leave the door open for further conversation about these events and our part in them. Our community grows stronger because of communication and connection.
In moments like this we as a community can only come together, share information, help hold each other up. If you are running a virtual event, or if you have done so already, talk to each other, pass along the right articles, the right settings, the best ways possible we can prevent what happened at The Racket from happening again.
These are immensely trying times. Be kind. Look out for one another. Give back in any way you can.
We will keep trying to do the same.
- Noah Sanders, The Racket
