This should come as no surprise to us that those that are selected to vote for the nominees of the Academy Awards, for the most part- are Caucasian. Only 2 % are Black, and less than 2 % are Latino. We tend to gravitate towards those to whom we can relate. Some kids gew up listening to American Bandstand, and I grew up listening to Soul Train. I only watched American Bandstand when there was an R&B musical guest that I liked. I remember, how, in the 90s I used to watch Martin, Living Single, and New York Undercover, while all my white friends watched Friends, Cheers, and Seinfeld. I thought Martin was funny as hell, and when I asked my white friends why they didn't watch it or any of the shows I watched, they all said they couldn't relate to them. As a result, generally, white people will gravitate toward those movies and actors that can speak to them. And the majority of them are the judges of the most coveted award given to actors/ directors, cinematographers, etc.
During my lifetime, who has been deserving of an Academy Award and has been ignored?
Cicely Tyson- The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Angela Bassett-What's Love Got to Do With It.
Diahann Carroll-Claudine
Diana Ross- Lady SingsThe Blues
Viola Davis-The Help, and Doubt
Taraji P. Henson- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Earl Jones- Claudine
Whoopi Goldberg-The Color Purple
Angela Bassett-Waiting to Exhale
Sophie Okonedo -Hotel Rwanda
Adepero Oduye- Pariah
Kimberly Elise- in every single movie I have ever seen her in ( 'For Colored'Girls', 'Beloved', 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' , 'Woman Thou Art Loosed.' Few people can pull off “downtrodden” like her.
Will Smith – Six Degrees of Separation, and The Pursuit of Happyness
Danny Glover - The Color Purple
Laurence Fishburne-What's Love Got to Do With It.
Samuel L Jackson- Do The Right Thing
Derek Luke- Antwone Fisher
Djimon Hounsou-Amistad
Michael Wright -The Five Heartbeats
Thandie Newton-Beloved
Ving Rhames - Rosewood
Lynn Whitfield- in any movie she has ever been in.
Do you agree? Am I missing anyone?
