Non.Plus Lit recognizes the systemic, structural, and interpersonal racism that permeates our society. We are dedicated to contributing—in whatever way we can— to the dismantling of this White Supremacy. In the literary world, like everywhere else, whiteness is too often assumed to be the neutral viewpoint. White voices are centered and Black voices are either silenced or tokenized by capitalist institutions. Our hope with the Black Reflections series is this: by creating a permanent space on our website for essays by Black writers, we can help chip away at that violence which assumes whiteness as the norm. The essays we’ve chosen, which we’ll release week by week through the month of October, are pieces of writing which center Black writers, Black voices, and Black stories. They are essays which negate the notion that whiteness is the viewpoint to which everything else should be compared, and put front and center the experience of Black writers.

We are grateful to all those who sent in their essays, and all those who have engaged with Non.Plus and supported Black Reflections. We hope to reopen submissions for this series in the future, and to continue cultivating this space on our website and in our community.