Pledges made to double the number of female and minority members of the Oscars organization have been welcomed by Hollywood figures. Nominees as well as representatives of the Oscar organization all praise the initiative but believe that the industry has a long way to go before it reaches goals of that level. But a step in the right direction has been taken as directors have refused to attend the event when the four categories of acting had an "all-white line-up".
This is an exact reversal of what happened during the civil rights period. Blacks were having to beg for equal treatment and the removal of forces discrimination. Jim Crow Laws (promoters of discrimination) were mainstream and used by almost every state in the South. Blacks were additionally given inferior treatment with the ruling in "Plessy v Ferguson" ("separate but equal clause"). They were technically given "equal facilities" because they were given the same number as whites, but the quality of facilities was very obviously worse. After the "I Have a Dream Speech" of Martin Luther King Jr., the segregation weakened, but the blacks had to suffer a long time of discrimination before they were finally granted truly equal treatment. It is refreshing to see that discrimination is now looked down upon in famous organizations, such as the Oscar organization incident mentioned in the article.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35395072
It's great that they seem to be making an effort to right their wrongs but I won't believe it until I see it.
ReplyDeleteShelby Linker, 8th period