March 4, 2014

Sunday's Oscars Indicate Hollywood May Be Calling Blacks
By Lapacazo Sandoval

Oscar®-winner Steve McQueen, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and Spike Lee pose together at the Governor's Ball following the live ABC Telecast of The Oscars® from the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood March 2.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The Time is now. If there ever was a time for African Americans interested in the motion picture industry to make a move, that time has apparently come. 

This is not suggesting the existence of a post-racial America (or a post-racial Hollywood) or that it will be easy because you are African-American.  Make no mistake, the film business is a tough business.  But if you’ve got what it takes, are passionate and persistent enough to tough it out in the face of rejection and persevere, you can make it. 

This is the implication from recent years; including Sunday night’s Academy Awards – that aspiring African-American filmmakers should dream big and go for it.  Hollywood appears to be calling for diversity and has opened its doors - gradually. 

Here are a few key factors: During the first 54 years of the Oscars, which began in 1929, only three African-American actors had received the Academy Award by 1983.  Those winners were Hattie McDaniel as Best Supporting Actress for “Gone With the Wind” in 1939, Sydney Poitier as Best Actor for “Lilies of the Field” in 1964, and Louis Gossett, Jr. as Best Supporting Actor for “An Officer and a Gentlemen” in 1983. 

Over the next 30 years, there were 11 more Oscars awarded to African-American actors which include Whoopie Goldberg, Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer, Forest Whitaker, Mo’Nique and Jamie Foxx.

The 86th Annual Academy Awards this year saw yet another Oscar presented to Lupita Nyong’o for her role as Best Supporting Actress in the film “12 Years a Slave,” which also won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  The film's director, Steve McQueen, made history becoming the first black producer ever to win the coveted Best Picture award for this film. The word “Black” is used here rather than African-American because Steve McQueen is British and Lupita Nyong’o is African from Kenya. 

This year’s Oscar Ceremony made history again by introducing to the world its new president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is the first African-American to serve as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.  In a recent interview, Isaacs said, “I am glad to be president during this year’s season.”  

A seasoned veteran in the movie business, Isaacs over the years has held every position on the Academy’s Board of Governors.  In the film business since 1977, Isaacs is well aware of the challenges facing African-American filmmakers historically.  As such, she has made diversity a priority for the Academy.  Isaacs explains, “We’ve been making strides at the Academy to make it more inclusive.  To open up our ranks.  To recognize different voices from around the world, including America, because there are different stories to be told.” 

Isaacs feels that education is critical to the success of the Academy meeting its goals. “We really want to educate young people to the range of opportunities in the motion picture business,” says Isaacs.  Academy programs include Team Oscar, The Student Academy Awards, and the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship.

It is the cumulative struggle of many African-American artists and others over many years that has produced a new, more equitable Hollywood system.  Diversity is a broad term which seeks to be inclusive of all people, not just African Americans.  “We are looking for the best and the brightest,” says Academy president Isaacs.

After winning Best Picture for “12 Years a Slave,” the film’s producer Brad Pitt perhaps made the best case for diversity when he said, “At the end of the day, we just hope that this film remains a gentle reminder that we're all equal.  We all want the same.  We want dignity and opportunity for ourselves and our family, and that another's freedom is every bit as important as our own; and that's it, and that's everything.”