New York, NY — “We extend our sincerest congratulations to LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones on being hired as writers for Saturday Night Live.

Tookes and Jones will hopefully add a depth and freshness of perspective to SNL’s writers’ room, fostering the creative environment necessary for new cast member Sasheer Zamata to thrive on screen.

These hires — found during a rare nationwide talent search conducted by SNL — are indicative of the wealth of talented, often overlooked Black women comedians working today.

ColorOfChange met with NBCUniversal executives in November to share the concerns of our members regarding the exclusion of Black women from SNL, as well as the use of harmful stereotypes on the show.

We are pleased to see that SNL is beginning to respond to those concerns. These exciting hires are important steps towards fostering a comedic landscape — and a larger media landscape — that presents fair and humanizing portrayals of Black women.”

###

With more than 900,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.