By Katie Farr, Iona Fleming, Jess Scaffidi Saggio, Ayman Sabir and Lucy Powell
Like most writers, Kyle Powell has brought his lived experience to his writing, in this case his years of experience working on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives within multiple companies. This exposed him to varying approaches, and the “range of ways people of Colour in the industry are treated.”
While he has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Neuroscience and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry throughout his career, Powell enjoys the “freedom” of fiction, in particular the “ability to create and relay messages however you want.” This prompted Powell to approach the subject of diversity and inclusion through fiction in More Black People; Powell explains that it “is a story [he] wanted to tell” because “so many people can relate to it.” This is important given the current climate: in the US and UK, “we are seeing a real backlash to DE&I initiatives,” which is “bolstered by a tighter economic environment.” Powell hopes that the book can remind people “of the value of DE&I work,” which involves “redressing historic imbalance and discrimination that heavily impacts our current lives.”
Powell has previously written both non-fiction (with The Diaspora Dilemma) and fiction (with Skin Deep Submission). Both require a different approach: Powell explains that while his fiction approach “is based in the story [he] want[s] to tell,” and is usually grounded in his “lived experience,” he also takes inspiration from the world and people he knows. Given he “closely understand[s] those worlds,” it is “easier to write about.” Speaking on his writing process, Powell explains that after working out the idea, he then outlines the story and works on the “key characters and world building.” In the creation of character, Powell enjoys “working on their respective motivations” and “insecurities” before the editing and rewrites begin. In contrast, his non-fiction work requires more of a “technical writing style” though there is still a creative element: here, Powell proceeds by “logically and clearly [communicating] the systemic oppression impacting the African Diaspora in the West.” When writing non-fiction, Powell has aimed not only to cover all areas which affect the Black community, “from economics, to politics, culture and psychology,” but to illustrate “how they are interconnected” instead of depicting them in isolation as they often are in the media.
The writing process for More Black People began with “an idea rooted in the post-2020 George Floyd landscape,” where there was a notion surrounding “anti-Black racism” floating around – which Powell notes was an idea that Black people knew was “going to be short lived.” This idea manifested itself in many DE&I points that were largely “superficial in nature.” However, he notes that this experience of being exploited without fostering “any meaningful change to support the community” is common to many Black people in the workforce. This situation highlighted to Powell that there is still “a lot of work to do” in resolving issues of racism and inclusion, exacerbated recently with many attempts to derail progress that has been made through DE&I attempts. Moreover, Powell stresses that through his story, he wanted to show how humans are all complex and things are very rarely ever one-dimensional. He equally stresses that “while [DE&I work is] not always perfect, [it] is critical:” we must be “intentional” and “focused” in addressing societal inequalities.
Powell states that the “challenging” and “sensitive” issues that impact him and other writers are used as “motivation” for a lot of his writing. He “aims to connect, inform and inspire” others through these experiences. Furthermore, Powell highlights that racial or negative experiences are used as “an aid to draw parallels and find inspiration in daily life,” bringing “authenticity” to his work and creating a “point of connection” for his readers. Whether a writer intends to or not, Powell believes that “all writers imbue their work with themselves, and their experiences,” so leaning into that is better than trying to ignore it. While Powell has “experienced racism” first-hand, he seeks to use his writing as “part of an effort to help improve things” for his community and “broader society,” by providing information “that people can connect with and learn from.”
A sensitive yet important topic which Powell is unafraid of confronting is the rise of far-right politics in Britain, intending to “examine the more complex nature of the far right.” Powell maintains a careful balance between trying to understand why “often average people” can find extreme far-right ideas appealing, “without exonerating the hateful and dangerous acts that can come from this part of society.” In Powell’s view, figureheads such as Trump, Farage and Le Pen are able to “leverage divisiveness to gain power,” appealing to the white working class while acting against their interests to lower taxes for the wealthy. Powell hopes to “illuminate that deceit,” remaining optimistic that if the book can reach those with “open minds,” it can “bring people together” as a counter to the worrying threat to “societal cohesiveness” that the far right poses. Fiction can be “a tool to communicate what is really going on,” and expose the dangerous scapegoating of immigrants and marginalised communities by far-right politicians.
Excitingly, Powell shared that he has ideas for future books also based around racial issues and modern romance, but he won’t spoil the surprise for the time being! Powell described the under-representation of stories relating to society’s “complex history, present, and potentially bright future” and hopes that, moving forward, he can continue to be a part of sharing these narratives.
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