Oscars: You Lost Me on This One!

Really?

I am troubled by the recent attack on Hollywood for being a racist institution. I am not a defender of Hollywood in general…I think they make very few watchable films these days…(in my opinion) but when I hear Jada Pinkett, Spike Lee, and Will Smith and a ton of others are acting like the black actor in America is living in an apartheid state I can’t let that stand unexamined…

For one thing..the facts don’t support these claims---at all. Blacks make up 12.6% of the population…in the last 20 years they have won 12.5% of the Academy awards for acting. That is perfectly representative…..over this same time period…how many Asians have won an Academy Award? How many hispanics? I don’t think a single Asian American has won an Academy Award and yet they make up 5.6% of the population….and yet, still, Asians are doing very well economically in our society. They are ascending and prospering and they generally have a very high education level…and all this without a single Academy Award …not even a nomination (correct me if I am wrong).

As far as television…studies have shown that there is a disproportionate amount of blacks relative to whites on all major TV network…..strangely, shows on Fox have the highest % of black actors relative to white…about 26% of actors on Fox are black and 59% are white…So, I hope we can bring some sanity back to this discussion…and go catch the “real bad guys”.

For the record, I feel that I am generally progressive on most issues…I voted for Obama twice and I am very concerned with civil rights in this country, for LGBT rights…. but, I am turned off by this shaming of Hollywood over alleged “racist” practices. Ironically, the host this year was a black man.

If the black community really wants to do something collectively to help uplift the black community they should make a concerted effort to reverse a very disturbing trend….black children are born into single family homes 73% of the time…let me repeat..3 out of 4 African American babies are born without a father in this country…that is one of the most disturbing social statistics in America…not the fact that no black actor received an acting nomination this year. Will Smith has made 250 million dollars in Hollywood…Hollywood has made him rich/rich….yet, he wants to condemn Hollywood.

While Will is out protesting about not even Oscar nominations…men are abandoning their children in the black community at an amazing rate..and it isn’t getting any better. We see it all the time…black children, especially boys, who have no father figure….and we know what that can lead to…and none of those things are good…check the stats on the dropout rate for children of single parents, the incarceration rate, the drug abuse rate…it is way more important than “Oscars”. Where was Will Smith when Cosby was out raping and drugging dozens and dozens (maybe hundreds) of women (and girls)---nowhere to be found.

And, while you are looking for real causes that can uplift the black community (and black women particularly) challenge the Rap community for using horribly degrading and misogynistic language to characterize girls and women. Where is Will Smith and Jada Pinkett and Spike Lee on these incredibly crucial issues? Rap music is devolving our society and certainly increasing the objectification of girls and women. Why aren’t they using their Hollywood bestowed leverage on those issues?

You can give every Academy Award from now until the year 3,000 to members of the African American community and it won’t change those statistics a bit…heck, not even an Obama Presidency changed those numbers (at all).

So, don’t focus too much on a single tree…ironically the one that has been bearing a ton of fruit for decades….this is pure folly….stand up for blacks who are prosecuted for the same crime at a higher rate than whites…stand up for the right of all people, the poor, blacks, hispanics, etc., to be given a quality education in this country…that is a travesty in my opinion. Stand up for black women who are doing the bulk of the work raising and supporting children without a partner in the black community.

No demographic in America deserves more help and support and compassion than black mothers…..it’s not even close. They are the unheard from group that is always left picking up the pieces.

As MLK said…keep your eyes on the “Prize”, the real “prize” is a better condition for black families in America, a better chance at the American dream, children born with fathers….children brought up to respect women…children who have a right to expect a quality education and to be treated fairly by law enforcement…

Protest the injustice against Eric Garner….or Sandra Bland, etc.…those incidents drove me nuts…I’ll march with you on those….

and besides, no one is entitled to be in the movies. Film is a private enterprise that is strictly motivated by profit, just like selling hamburgers...if movies about purple unicorns and mermaids are the most popular then Hollywood will be hiring tons of purple unicorns and mermaids. It is a business. They don’t make films on an affirmative action basis...that is something you might ask government to do...but not the private sector.

I hope you consider the real battles…the bigger battles….this one weakens the general argument…and it only hurts the struggle for racial equality..

My opinions

Food for thought…