Tell us about your job. Why does The Times need an editor focused on race and what exactly does that mean?

Some readers — not many, but some — will contact me and say, “There is only one race and it’s the human race.” That’s a lovely thought, but what they are suggesting is that everything would be harmonious and peaceful if we were to ignore the violent history of white supremacy and the global issues of anti-blackness and colorism. But when we ignore violence and injustice, they don’t go away. When we ignore racism, it doesn’t go away. The newsletter is a small but healthy and necessary reminder of this. It is also a place to celebrate diversity and collaboration. Being the Race/Related editor means many things to me. I consider it a huge responsibility with very little margin for error. Ultimately, my job is about spreading awareness, both inside and outside of the newsroom, about how race affects our lives.

You are editing pieces during a remarkably polarized time in our country. How do you think about your role?

First and foremost my role is to be a good journalist and to tell the truth. It’s not my job to tell people what to think, but to provide them with information, evidence and context so that they can make sense of the world and come to their own conclusions. Find facts and present them. Turn every page. Bonus points when the story is told grippingly and the sentences are beautiful. All of this remains true when I’m writing about myself. We should be fair. We should be respectful. We should be clear. We should hold power to account. We should be more inclusive of marginalized voices and perspectives. I don’t know that there is a formula for balancing all of these things, but I believe most of us are doing our best.

The Times recently launched the 1619 Project to examine the legacy of slavery. Is it part of your role to think about ways we can re-examine some of the most basic foundations of what we believe?

Yes, of course. The stories I edit tend to focus on race in America and this is not only by virtue of the fact that I am an editor on the National desk. I find these stories deeply fascinating. There is an intimate relationship between race in America and the “American dream.” We are a forward-thinking country, but this habit of always thinking about the future often means we ignore or glorify the past. We sometimes have selective memory. It’s like Americans suffer from a particular form of amnesia, especially when it comes to racism. We have to know our past in order to understand our current moment, but we can’t let our past prevent us from working toward a better future. I want readers to have the tools they need to ask the right questions about all of this.

Before coming to the Times you wrote a music column for The New Yorker. What do you like to listen to when you’re writing or editing?