Out of 20 nominations in the acting category for this year's Oscars, ALL of them are white. For this reason, both Spike Lee-a filmmaker and Jada Pinkett Smith --an actress have decided to boycott the Oscars because of this discrimination. Most of those who control the nominations are older white men, and the Oscars reflect this. Smith and Lee announced their boycott on Martin Luther King Day, quoting him in their message about why they won't be attending.
Although this is a small step, hopefully this will catch on before the Oscars and the message will be sent with greater force. This is similar to how Rosa Parks refused to stand up and give up her seat to a white person. Even though she was only person, her impact lives to this day. Lee and Smith are both doing what they can to help bring light to the discrimination of the Oscars. They have pointed out that although there are obviously highly talented people working in the film industry, they did not receive the nomination they deserve.
It's nice to see people put their reputation on the line, in front of people they know in real life, to send a message to the greater public that this is unacceptable. Racism is both intentional and unintentional, and we need to be more sensitive to how we will raise our future generation to understand all spectrums of the world. - Kera Mickus
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