Screen grab from The Washington Post
In a response to a Latino Rebels editorial and other critiques that expressed serious concerns about a July 28 story called “White, and in the minority” by Washington Post reporter Terrence McCoy, a spokesperson for the newspaper told Journal-isms earlier this month that it saw no real issues with the story:
“The Washington Post has a long tradition of narrative reporting on the experiences of immigrants and minorities in America, as recent work by a number of Post reporters vividly demonstrates,” Post spokeswoman Shani George said. “Many of their stories recount the experiences of immigrants as they adapt to America and confront discrimination, shifting policies and other challenges.”
“Terrence McCoy’s story captured the perspective of those who feel displaced by demographic change, by conveying what it is like for two white Americans who must themselves adapt to a new America,” George added. “McCoy portrays their fear, resentment and xenophobia—as well as their responses to the attempts of their Latino co-workers to interact with them. McCoy’s work will continue to explore the emergence of a multicultural majority in America.”
A review of McCoy’s recent bylines for the Post over the last year seem to overlook the assertion that his work “will continue to explore the emergence of a multicultural majority in America.”
McCoy’s last two August articles were about the events in Charlottesville this past weekend. Before his “White, and in the minority” story, he wrote a piece about a mother’s search for her schizophrenic son, a story about a 19th-century baseball tournament, how an empty mall has become a homeless shelter and a longer article about the opioid crisis in Washington.
On Monday, McCoy appeared on WBUR’s Here and Now national public radio program to defend his reporting. That same segment featured Latino Rebels founder, Julio Ricardo Varela, who responded to McCoy’s defense. You can listen to the full segment below:
