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Writer: Alex Morgan
Black history, itself, has a line of influential and successful blacks spanning from generation to generation. Among these figures, we have lawyers, doctors, business owners, athletes, public figures, and those in the entertainment industry as well. One of the memorable groups in black history are actors; the history of black actors spans from the 19th century to today. A rich culture that portrays the stronger and weaker moments within our culture from great injustices to great triumphs. From Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson, Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, and Chadwick Boseman, these black actors are driving force within the black community that influences blacks to keep striving and achieving their goals; the forces that help preserve our culture.
Through issues of race, police brutality, mass incarceration, diversity, and prejudice, black actors have incorporated elements, themes, and symbols into movies that allow its audience to reflect and contemplate a diverse yet segregated society that blacks live in. From the controversial to insightful, black movies reveal the complexity that is a black art and the pride that blacks celebrate daily. Although black culture in the arts serves much more relevance today, it wasn’t always this way. Black actors were not allowed to work as actors due to Jim Crow and segregation laws, which often poked fun at stereotypical characteristics as black; this caused blacks to be viewed in a poor light and only when the opportunity did arise, they were cast in roles that portrayed as subservient, lazy, loyal, ignorant, and many other negative qualities. Blackface was born. While black actors have since come a long way since then, today, blacks continue to face adversity in Hollywood; amongst these factors, racism, exclusion which lead to the 2017 hashtag: #OscarsSoWhite. Films such as Fences, Birth of a Nation, The 13th, and Moonlight were excluded from Oscar wins albeit Oscar Nominations for extraordinary performances from the actors themselves; it leads black audiences to question whether or not we came a long way from the days of Jim Crow.
This questioning leads into the discussion of casting for black actors; from gangsters to thugs, slaves, the angry black woman, the strong “mammy figure”, and many comedic roles, black actors find the opportunities to be cast limited and are quickly dwindling in favor of white directors casting them in said stereotypical roles. Instead of encouraging black actors to find roles that they find more suitable or to play roles that are beyond the archetypes of their race, they are told to suffer in silence and play the role; in other words, it’s not what a black person should be, it’s what a black person is. Manohla Dargis comments, “How could it be otherwise given that the history of American cinema is also the history of American racism? I’m reminded of this ugly truth every time I watch an old film in which there’s not a single character who isn’t white. Or the only black or Asian character is the maid or houseboy, serving the boss with a smile. Much has changed, but too many new movies just play the tokenism game, using minorities as accessories or emblems of the white character’s presumptive good intentions — like the Prius parked in the driveway”(Dargis). Black actors are continually reminded of their lack of freedom and their humanity degraded in stereotypical films.
Black actors have had their struggles in entertainment but because of black directors and cinematographers, black stories can be told and spread with confidence, accuracy, pride, and heroism. The Cosby Show, A Different World, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Waiting to Exhale, and Carmen Jones is just the many films that have demonstrated the strength and power that are black actors. The incredible strength of black plays, tv shows, and movies allow blacks to see themselves in a positive light and allows them to see more versatility when it comes to a positive image. We see stories come to life with effervescence, tenacity, perseverance, and independence. Black actors today demonstrate the capability, intelligence, power and talent that was taken away from us through oppression and racism; it shows that black artists and black people, in general, are much more than a smile and simple song and dance. Black actors are incredible in any movie; we just need the encouragement to do so. Black actors are the change that will forever be in the world!
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