23 December 19
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23 December 19
FOCUS: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | In Hollywood, a Decade of Racial Progress but at a Glacial Pace
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Hollywood Reporter
Abdul-Jabbar writes: "As far as I can see, Hollywood is committed to making substantial and lasting changes - but at its own pace."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Hollywood Reporter
Abdul-Jabbar writes: "As far as I can see, Hollywood is committed to making substantial and lasting changes - but at its own pace."
EXCERPT:
Traditional Jain priests who had committed to a life of poverty would sit outside accepting alms, not just to survive, but to provide an opportunity for others to be charitable and thereby be better people. Sometimes it feels like African Americans' value to Hollywood is, like the Jain priests, as an opportunity to occasionally produce something that makes them feel better because they are addressing social injustice. The numbers, though, tell a different and disappointing story. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, minorities make up 40 percent of the U.S. population. But only 12.6 percent work as writers and 7.8 percent as directors. Only 2.2 out of 10 lead actors in a broadcast scripted series are people of color. Whites comprised 77 percent of all film roles in 2017. And so on.
All the stats add up to the same conclusion: Our stories and our storytellers are not represented even close to our percentage of the population. Not that there has to be an exact ratio, but the current ratio tells people of color that they, their life experiences and their points of view are not as valuable as those of whites.
