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‘SNL’ Put A Black Man In Charge For The First Time In History

Epic news for Michael Che!

Congrats are in order for comedian Michael Che. The Weekend Update co-host is making history as the first person of color to land a position as head writer at Saturday Night Live.

Vulture.com confirmed that Che and his Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost will join longtime SNL head writers Bryan Tucker and Kent Sublette.

Che was originally brought on SNL as a writer in the midst of controversy surrounding a lack of diversity within the show’s cast and crew in 2013. Over the course of the show’s 43 years, the head writers of the iconic series have primarily been white and male.

While Michael Che’s big move proves that SNL moving in the direction, it’s important to note that the number of black male cast members has remained the same since Che’s promotion to Weekend Update co-host in 2014. Leslie Jones, who was originally hired as a writer, is currently the only Black female cast member on the series.

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