African American and Asian American Women Writers Show Support for Elizabeth Warren

Prior to Super Tuesday, a group of women writers of color expressed their support for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president.

During this political year, writers have taken to social media to support certain causes, like late last year several women writers and literary groups donated to reunification efforts of families at the U.S.-Mexico border. Some of those causes spilled into the fight for diversity in publishing, such as with the controversy tainting the best-seller American Dirt that many in the Latinx literary community found offensive.

Asian American and Pacific Islander influencers signed a letter in support of an Elizabeth Warren presidency in January. This letter followed Black Womxn For‘s November letter with 100 Black women’s names including author Roxane Gay also supporting Warren for president.

The most well-known writers on the list were Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere coming to Hulu later this month; Jenny Han, author of To All the Boys series, now two films on Netflix; Courtney Milan, romance novelist who became the center of the racism firestorm that crippled the Romance Writers of America; and Ellen K. Pao, the Silicon Valley influencer who wrote career guidebook Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change after losing a lawsuit against her employer over discrimination claims. Actress Constance Wu, who made a name for herself in the blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians based on Kevin Kwan’s novel and will be the star of the film version of Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong, also signed the letter.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the other leading female presidential candidate who has been rising in the polls, with a third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 11. As the support women of color are showing for the main female contender for the presidency mirrors the support Hillary Clinton received four years ago, 2020 could be the first election celebrity writers may exhibit more of their influence.