Calling It Out

The 88th Academy Awards ceremony will be televised Sunday, February 28th and I will be watching as I have for the past 50 years. There is a rule in my home that no one speaks to me once the show begins. I prepare special hors d’oeuvres, open a split of champagne and enjoy Belgium chocolates. This is one of my favorite events of the year.


13 Black men have been nominated for best actor. Four have won. 10 Black women have been nominated for best actress. There has been one win. 14 men have been nominated for best supporting actor. There have been four wins. 19 women have been nominated for best supporting actress. Six have won.

Three Black men have been nominated for best director. None has won. Four Black people have been nominated for best adapted screenplay. Two have won. There have been three nominees for best original screenplay. None have won. This year, the screenplay for Straight Outta Compton was nominated but it was written by four White people.

Even the music categories have been sparse. There have been eight nominations for best score and two wins. 27 nominations for best original songs with six wins.

The first Academy Awards were presented May 16, 1929. The awards show was first televised in 1953. The first Black person to be nominated was Hattie McDaniel who won the Best Supporting Actress award for the role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind. On the night of her greatest triumph, she still had to bear the insult of being seated in a segregated section. Although no longer segregated, not much has changed. Why would it?

After more than 400 years on this continent and all the contributions Black people have made here, we are still waiting for the White man’s approval and acceptance. At what juncture will we (Black people) recognize that neither is coming.

It has been made abundantly clear century after century, decade after decade, year after year, month after month and day after day that we are never going to be fully accepted. There is never going to be parity. We will never be treated equally and fairly. If we could accept that, we could go on about our business and stop pressing our face against the glass begging White society for a place.

Sounds harsh, I know. But even if we don’t acknowledge the history of Black people in the country, let’s take a look at today. Young Black men are being killed at an alarming rate by the police. Many of those police officers are being granted a pass by grand juries who say those officers were justified in killing unarmed Black men. 12 year old Tamir Rice was killed by a police officer while he was holding a toy gun. Would that police officer have shot a 12 year old White boy brandishing a toy gun? Absolutely not. Black males, no matter their ages, are seen as threats to society.

President Obama has been the most disrespected president in modern times. From a member of Congress shouting “You lie!” as he gave a State of the Union Address to the constant questioning of his birth, he has endured a level of insolence that no other president has had to endure.

Black people have only been voting less than 50 years without impunity and now several states are attempting to turn back the clock and make it difficult for Black people to vote. Schools in major metropolitan areas are merely pipelines to the prison industrial complex.

Black people have more health issues but less economic opportunities than Whites. Our image across the world is that of the thug Black man and the angry Black woman. Black men are viewed as the scariest and Black women are viewed as the most unattractive. With all this, why would we believe the Oscars would be any different?

It is time to stop. Every system in this country (economic, political, educational, and religious) was created by White people for White people and it’s about time we recognize that. If we recognize that fact, it would make life easier when there is disparity as with this year’s Oscar nominations.

Black people, I’m not advocating putting our heads in the sand. We should do everything possible to make sure laws are passed that ensures our civil liberties. We should protest when the police are granted a free pass to murder our youth. We should let this country and the world know that we will not stand for racism in any institution or system that we support with our money, our time and our votes. But we must stop begging White people to accept us and to play fair. It hasn’t happened in over 400 years and unless there is divine intervention, it isn’t going to happen anytime soon. We cannot change the racist institutions that run every aspect of this country. But we must be unashamed to call it out when we see it.

Remember sometimes it’s do-do, sometimes it’s ka-ka and sometimes it’s shit. Call it shit when it’s shit and do so loud and clear. You can only change a thing when you acknowledge a thing. It’s time for the U.S. to acknowledge its’ shit.