AML people, by now most of you are probably tuned into the controversy over this year’s Oscar nominations. For the second year in a row, there are no persons of color reflected in the major award categories. This has led to an outcry sparked by Jada Pinkett-Smith; and many diverse voices weighing in on the lack of diversity in the industry.
“Isn’t it time that people of color recognize how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere? Maybe it’s time that we recognize that if we love and respect and acknowledge ourselves in the way in which we are asking others to do, that that is the place of true power. Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power — and we are a dignified people, and we are powerful. Let’s not forget it,” said Pinkett-Smith in a video released shortly after the announcement of the nominations.
Following the outcry, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the current and first African American President of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced new measures to promote diversity.They include a change to the group’s membership practices, new voting limits, and expanding active recruitment to include more women, non-whites, more diverse group of filmmakers, international and young.
I had the privilege to be invited by Fox40 News to weigh in on the controversy and offer possible solutions. Watch what I had to say on the television network.
Cheers,
~Ms. Uduak