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The Oscars’ Serious Diversity Problem: Should The Awards Be Boycotted?

By William Gomez
Published on: 12:04 PST, Jan 19, 2016

Yesterday we observed the legacy of a man who challenged our country’s perception of the meaning of “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,”.

Nearly 50 years after Martin Luther King Jr. changed the course of our nation, people of color, along with minorities, still find themselves in the shadows, exploited by those in power.

Just yesterday, black actors called foul on the white majority for neglecting their work at this year’s Academy Awards. Many critics have since argued for both sides of the cause, highlighting the lack of diversity within the Academy, while the other critiques the audacity of these privileged actors making such an uproar over an award.

Last Thursday, the Academy Awards revealed the nominees chosen to represent the best of this year’s cinematic achievements. That list, however, failed to include a black actor/actress in all four of the major acting categories for the second consecutive year.

Famed director Spike Lee along with actress Jada Pinkett Smith both announced Monday that they would be boycotting the Awards ceremony due to the lack of diversity and neglect towards deserving black actors, and many black people have since urged others to join the boycott.

Lee, who was awarded an honorary Oscar this past November, announced his decision to refrain from the event via his Instagram account and defended his position with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.

The Academy’s president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, responded to the dissatisfaction, admitting it was time for a major change within the Academy.

“I’d like to acknowledge the wonderful work of this year’s nominees. While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion,” she said in statement issued Monday evening.

“This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes. The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.”

Many have since come forward claiming this boycott should not be considered a legitimate issue of race but rather an outcry from privileged narcissists who are disgruntled because certain individuals were left off the Academy’s nominations.

And granted, there are issues of greater relevance in this country that need far more attention than that of an award, does it not make sense to fight for equality in any profession?

According to the BBC, a study conducted by the LA Times was able to confirm the identities of more than 5,100 Oscar voters, which is more than 89 percent of the voting members. The results showed that the voters who choose the nominees are nearly 94 percent Caucasian and 77 percent male having a median age of 62 years.

Along with the lack of diversity within the voting population of the Academy, of the 2, 947 Oscars awarded over its 87-year history, only 31 have gone to black actors. Food for thought.

There are kids who grow up in unprivileged settings that aspire to one day become artists and actors/actresses. Should the field not be leveled when their time to shine comes, enabling them to be recognized appropriately for their work?

In 1966 Martin Luther King Jr. sent labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez a telegram acknowledging Mr. Chavez’s work.

“The fight for equality must be fought on many fronts,” Dr. King wrote.” Our separate struggles are really one – a struggle for freedom, for dignity and for humanity.”

Not every movement has to be backed by the whole, it only needs to make the whole aware. In recent years injustices towards people of color has been brought to our nation’s attention; it’s always been there, we’ve just never been made aware of it or have chosen to turn our attention elsewhere.

In the case of this boycott of the Oscars, though it does not carry the significance of a #blacklivesmatter movement, one cannot deny that it is a movement for equality being fought for on a different front. There have been and will continue to be countless artists that sacrifice their lives to achieve their goals. The color of their skin or the makeup of their being should not prevent them for being recognized for their work.

The records show that the Academy Awards has been an event dominated by the white majority. It’s time a legitimate case be made to change that, and fittingly so it was done on a day we observe a man who gave his life for equality.

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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