Funding for Think comes from SMU Simmons graduate liberal studies and dispute resolution doctoral and master's programs.

The undeniable violence of George Floyd's murder pushed Americans who rarely experience racism to start paying more attention to the experiences of Americans who deal with it all the time.

It was a time of soul-searching and shame for people who realized they'd been overlooking

a lot of abuse and suffering.

But it was maybe not the worst time to be a black writer willing to speak truth to power.

From KERA in Dallas, this is think.

I'm Chris Boyd.

As companies wanted guidance on creating better work climates for their

employees of color and book clubs bump titles about race to the top of their reading lists,

my guest found himself well positioned not only to share his perspective with audiences eager to hear it,

but to make good money doing it. And good for him, right? Sometimes capitalism rewards people who

deserve it. But what he

hadn't bargained for was how much his new career focus would cost him emotionally. And he is ready

to shift gears again for the sake of his well-being. Chad Sanders is an author, screenwriter,

public speaker, and host of the Yearbook podcast. His book about all this is called How to Sell Out, the Hidden

Cost of Being a Black Writer. Chad, welcome to think. Thank you for having me. What an intro.

I really enjoyed the book. It gave me so much to think about. You open with this provocative statement.

You say, this is your last time writing about race. What was your first time writing about race? Oh, my God. Wow.

That's, I must have been six or seven years old, if I'm honest. You know, I've always been a

writer, which I think a lot of writers will tell you once they're adults and they reflect back on

their childhood, which is to say

the way that I processed my feelings was through telling myself stories about what I was going

...