Black Actresses in Hollywood: Still in the Shadows

"It's not just that black actresses are auditioning and not getting cast in larger roles β€” it seems that they are frequently absent from the casting process entirely," Aisha Harris writes in a piece at Slate that challenges a claim that this has been a great year in film and television for black women.… [Kerry]…

"It's not just that black actresses are auditioning and not getting cast in larger roles β€” it seems that they are frequently absent from the casting process entirely," Aisha Harris writes in a piece at Slate that challenges a claim that this has been a great year in film and television for black women.

… [Kerry] Washington isn’t the only black woman in Hollywood who’s currently experiencing a high point in her career. This summer has brought forth more welcome news, with the election of Cheryl Boone Isaacs as theΒ first black female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Internet star Issa Rae’s deal with HBO toΒ co-write and star in her own comedy seriesΒ based on themes from her popular Web series,Β The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl. (This comes after last year’sΒ equally promising newsΒ that Rae is developingΒ another sitcom underΒ ScandalΒ creator Shonda Rhimes’ company, though that projectΒ has yet to be sold.) Combined with the Oscar talk swirling around the performances of Oprah Winfrey and Octavia Spencer for Lee Daniels’ The ButlerΒ andΒ Fruitvale Station, respectively, this seems to be a pretty great year for black women in film and television. Perhaps, even, this is evidence ofΒ  β€œthe Obama effect” on Hollywood, asΒ Sharon Waxman wrote for theΒ WrapΒ a couple of weeks ago?

Video will return here when scrolled back into view

Not even close. The β€œObama effect,” for those new to the term, is a tidy phrase that implies that our black president has inspired the country to do better in all walks of life, fromΒ improving test scores for black studentsΒ to moves toward greater diversity and inclusion of nonwhites. Waxman cites as her evidence of Hollywood’s improved stance toward blacks a meeting where names of the β€œhottest” current celebrities were bandied about. Washington andΒ Parks and RecreationΒ starΒ Rashida Jones, she with the β€œpiercing blue eyes and mixed race parentage,” were the first names mentioned, she writes proudly.

As easy as it may be for Waxman to measure equality in perceived hotness, it’s even easier for actresses of color to tell you that Hollywood still has a long way to go when it comes to black representation, and especially black female representation …

Read Aisha Harris' entire piece at Slate.

The RootΒ aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.

Straight From The Root

Sign up for our free daily newsletter.