As the nation reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the spirit of protest is in the air.
The Academy Awards? penchant for shutting Black actors out of the Oscar nominations is getting the attention it deserves.
Last week, we reported that, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences failed to nominate any of the fine performances turned in by Black actors in 2015.
Now, some in the industry, namely director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, have decided to stay home from this year?s Awards show in protest.??
Lee wrote on his Instagram page, ?Again. I Would Like To Thank President Cheryl Boone Isaacs And The Board Of Governors Of The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences For Awarding Me an Honorary Oscar This Past November. I Am Most Appreciative. However My Wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee And I Will Not Be Attending The Oscar Ceremony This Coming February. We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy. But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White? And Let’s Not Even Get Into The Other Branches. 40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can’t Act?! WTF!! It’s No Coincidence I’m Writing This As We Celebrate The 30th Anniversary Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday. Dr. King Said “There Comes A Time When One Must Take A Position That Is Neither Safe, Nor Politic, Nor Popular But He Must Take It Because Conscience Tells Him It’s Right”. For Too Many Years When The Oscars Nominations Are Revealed, My Office Phone Rings Off The Hook With The Media Asking Me My Opinion About The Lack Of African-Americans And This Year Was No Different. For Once, (Maybe) I Would Like The Media To Ask All The White Nominees And Studio Heads How They Feel About Another All White Ballot. If Someone Has Addressed This And I Missed It Then I Stand Mistaken. As I See It, The Academy Awards Is Not Where The “Real” Battle Is. It’s In The Executive Office Of The Hollywood Studios And TV And Cable Networks. This Is Where The Gate Keepers Decide What Gets Made And What Gets Jettisoned To “Turnaround” Or Scrap Heap. This Is What’s Important. The Gate Keepers. Those With “The Green Light” Vote. As The Great Actor Leslie Odom Jr. Sings And Dances In The Game Changing Broadway Musical HAMILTON, “I WANNA BE IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS”. People, The Truth Is We Ain’t In Those Rooms And Until Minorities Are, The Oscar Nominees Will Remain Lilly White.
Pinkett Smith asked, via Facebook and Twitter, ?Should people of color refrain from participating all together?? She added, ?People can only treat us in the way in which we allow.?
On Monday evening, the Academy?s president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, said she was ?both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion? in this year?s nominees and adding, ?This is a difficult but important conversation, and it?s time for big changes.?
Read more at Reuters.
