Full article is here and has a lot more wild details, like the fact that you can actually see Toni Morrison’s career as an editor (1967-1983) in that chart reflecting a rise, and then fall, of black authors.
the REPLIES to this post, I swear to god-
Translation: “Hello, I have no understanding of systemic racism and the structural inequalities that cause people of color to have less opportunities to tell their stories. I believe that becoming an author is easy and definitely not something that favors the more economically advantaged, who have more time and leisure to pursue their dreams and are also overwhelmingly white because of racist historical policies. I think books magically appear on bookshelves or in people’s recommendations solely by their own merit instead of having to pass through an industry full of mostly white gatekeepers who put a market value on each aspiring author’s manuscript by judging it through their white middle class lens. I don’t see race because I delight in my own ignorance!”