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After Janet Hubert (the 1st and best Aunt Viv from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air) dragged Jada Pinkett-Smith and her husband — over the river and through the woods all the way to grandmother’s house — for their recommendation to boycott the Oscars, it has sparked a serious discussion as to whether or not boycotting the Oscars will mean anything.
In case you’re still not hip to what happened, the stunning lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations has once again come to the forefront with not one black person (forget about the rest of yall) being nominated for any individual acting awards. The #OscarsSoWhite hashtag is alive and well for this year too.
Some observers wonder why the hell black folk should put any stock in the recognition of a white-dominated industry. Others think the industry will not change unless it is forced to recognize and deal with their exclusionary tendencies by honoring the achievement and the artistry of black people.
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I am of two minds on this issue: I think it’s imperative that black people support their own awards shows and start their own production companies, businesses, distribution channels,etc. But I also think that until we get the sh!t poppin like hot grits, we cannot sit back and let our talented people be happy with being ignored by a system which disseminates images of all races of people around the world.
To be truly integrated or completely independent? That’s an incredibly old argument, right? But I’m saying, why the fck can’t BOTH thing happen?
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