Black Actors Protest Oscar Awards

Black Actors Protest Oscar Awards

Oscar ceremonies have been picketed over the years in the interest of equal opportunity for African Americans. In 1962, a group known as the Hollywood Race Relations Bureau paraded in front of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium with signs urging “Film Equality for Negroes” and “Negroes Want a Break.” Some of the picketers were arrested for disturbing the peace. In 1996, Reverend Jesse Jackson led a boycott of the Oscar ceremony because of the absence of African American nominees. Some picketers carried signs that read, “Who will win best white actor and white actress?” Some observers, although sympathetic to Jackson’s goal, accused him of poor timing, given that this particular ceremony was produced by Quincy Jones and hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, both African Americans. One year later, Jackson referred to “an opportunity deficit, not a talent deficit,” warning that “Hollywood must do a better job in reflecting the cultural diversity of society. Until then, every Oscar night is a celebration in excluding people of color from fair share, equal opportunity and access, a slap in the face to the American dream of a ‘one big tent’ society.” Jackson categorized the protest as the first step in the fight against institutional racism in the entertainment industry. He described the action as part of a long-term struggle that will be continued. Those who favor militancy point to the 1999 animated film Tarzan, which was without a single black character even though it was purportedly set in Africa. Those who view boycotting as an unrealistic protest tool insist that blacks, a large segment of the movie-going audience in spite of their on-screen exclusion, love movies too much to stay away.

African American artists have recently become involved in some alternatives to the Academy Awards. Each year on the eve of the Oscar ceremony, there is a relatively little-known private event staged by members of the African American entertainment community. Informally known as “the Black Oscars,” it is not affiliated with the Academy Awards show. Honorees for their work in film during the preceding year receive a special recognition award in the form of an African statuette of the Tree of Life. Proceeds from the dinner benefit a foundation that reaches out to various black charities. Past honorees have included Cuba Gooding Jr., Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Samuel L. Jackson, and Spike Lee.

The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) presented its Oscar Micheaux Award for Excellence in 1999 to African American film director Carl Franklin.

The annual Independent Spirit Awards has honored various black achievements, such as the film Down in the Delta and its leading actress, Alfre Woodard.

Whether African American actors should pursue these avenues of self-validation or continue the struggle for mainstream inclusion is debatable. It would seem feasible for them to do both.

Some years ago, Karl Maiden, then president of the Academy, declaimed, “The members of the Academy have done more to combat racial hatred and racial misunderstanding than all the editorial writers in all the newspapers in the world.” As well-intentioned as he was, it takes more than a defensive posture to silence the criticism.

It would be worthwhile for the Academy to publicize more widely some of its good faith efforts. One example is the inauguration in 1977 of a Black American Film History Collection, the first of its kind to be developed by a major film-related institution. Hattie McDaniel memorabilia was the initial acquisition, donated by Edgar Goff, McDaniel’s grandnephew. Two decades later, the Edward Mapp Collection of more than a thousand black cast film posters was presented to the Academy and cataloged in its Margaret Her-rick Library. These historical archives demonstrate the Academy’s recognition of the many contributions made by African Americans to American cinema.

To foster a more level playing field for small, independent productions, which are more likely to involve African American artists, the Academy might consider placing a limitation on the amount of money a studio can spend on promoting a film for Oscar consideration. Such a move would be analogous to the government’s bid to reform campaign finance funding in the political sector.

The Academy might wish to consider a special award for exceptional achievement by African Americans in film. The award need not be presented annually, but only as warranted in the judgment of the Academy’s Board of Governors. The precedent has already been established to honor the contributions of artists like Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, and others who never won competitive Oscars but earned the industry’s respect. A special award in the name of Oscar Micheaux, early independent black filmmaker, would not require a stretch from awards currently bestowed in the names of Irving G. Thalberg, Jean Hersholt, and Gordon E. Sawyer.

Certainly the symbolism of a golden triumphant crusader, sword in hand, and its compatibility with the enduring struggle of African Americans in the film industry is hard to ignore.

After years of a Monday-night tradition, the final Oscar ceremony of the twentieth century switched to Sunday night and started a half hour earlier. The annual event, second in viewership only to the Super Bowl, entered a ten-year agreement with the ABC network. The seventy-fourth annual ceremony, in 2002, took place in the Kodak Theater, the Academy’s new shared venue on Hollywood Boulevard, just down the street from the Roosevelt Hotel, scene of the first Academy Awards ceremony.

That evening became a watershed moment in Oscar history for several reasons. For the first time since 1972, three black actors (Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, and Will Smith) were nominated for performances in leading roles. For the first time ever, two black males were nominated in the same year as best actor in leading roles. Another highlight of the occasion was the presentation to Sidney Poitier of an honorary Oscar for lifetime career achievement in films. He received two standing ovations. Poitier’s 1963 Oscar had been the first awarded to a black man. The ultimate groundbreaking and record setting came with twin victories for Halle Berry as best actress (the first African American actress to receive this honor) and Denzel Washington as best actor (only the second African American to win in this category). Indeed, Oscar history was made in 2002.

History continued to be made in 2003 when a Benin-born West African, Djimon Hounsou, was nominated as best supporting actor, although no African Americans were nominated that year. The following year, 2004, best actor in a leading role and best actor in a supporting role statuettes went to two African Americans, Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman, respectively. Foxx also enjoyed the distinction of being the first African American actor to be nominated in both acting categories (leading role and supporting role) in the same year. The year 2005 continued to “up the ante” as it were, with three nominations for African American actors (two males in leading roles and one female in a supporting role), although not one of the three won. Consistent progress over this three-year period accounts for the lack of surprise at the 2006 announcements by the Academy. Five of the twenty acting nominations went to blacks, two of whom went on to win the Oscar.

With an all-time record of five acting nominations for African Americans at the 79th annual Academy Awards ceremony in February 2007, it may be argued that racial barriers have come down like the Berlin Wall. Some question whether this milestone is merely a moment or the start of a movement. Race may have been replaced by class in films, if the plot of the 2006 film The Pursuit ofHappyness is any indication. Generational attitudes also determine receptive-ness by audiences to the appearances of blacks in films. A sixty-year-old white male may not be keen on seeing a black starring in a motion picture; his thirty-five-year-old son may be indifferent; his fifteen-year-old grandson may be totally liberated from racial bias.

It should be remembered that Oscar does not always guarantee a sanguine future. The voice of experience cautions, “Beware what you wish for because you may receive it.” Oscar nominations and even awards can be a curse an actor never evades. Cuba Gooding Jr. and Michael Clarke Duncan, both gifted actors, have been beset with poor quality projects; Alfre Woodard and Marianne Jean-Bap-tiste have turned to other mediums for roles worthy of their talent; Margaret Avery and Jaye Davidson have virtually disappeared.

Talent rather than race will have prevailed when the presence of African American nominees is no longer newsworthy. Then truly can we shout “Hooray for Hollywood”—proud that the Oscars acknowledge only the very best in movie making.

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