I did not watch The Emmy Awards this year because there was no one I really felt the need to see win an Emmy. I'm a TV junkie. but fell behind on last year's shows and none of the ones I love were nominated anyway. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who didn't tune in because it was the lowest rated show in the history of the Emmys (not helped by Fox's moronic decision to air them in September against football). The sad part about the ratings is that history was actually made and few people saw it. Kerry Washington has been nominated a handful of times for her work on "Scandal" and I firmly believe she should've won at least one Emmy for the role by now. The first year she was nominated, it was widely believed she'd win and become the first African-American woman to win an Emmy as a lead actress in a TV show. She never did take one home though and, sadly, I think her window of opportunity is now closed (at least, for the role of Olivia). However, Viola Davis is 1-for-1 when it comes to the Emmy for lead actress in a television series, taking home the prize over the weekend and making a fantastic speech about opportunity for minorities in the industry, saying, "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is simply opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.". We should've been talking about her historic win this week and what it might mean down the road for minorities potentially landing lead roles in more projects. Instead, thanks to Twitter and an ignorant soap opera actress, people are once again discussing whether or not the struggle by minorities, and women, to be treated as equals has really been all that bad.
I won't go into what exactly the soap chick tweeted because A) She tweeted an awful lot and B) A simple Googling will bring her comments up. The cliffnotes version is that she insulted Davis for using Harriet Tubman's name in her speech ("I heard Harriet Tubman and I thought it's a fucking Emmy for gods sake. She wasn't digging through a tunnel"), claimed Davis had never been discriminated against and claimed mentioning race in her speech was using the show to further the agenda of race. And you know what? You're damn right she was trying to further an agenda, though not the one this chick thought. The only agenda any actor of color has is to breakthrough so it's easier for others to follow them. Viola Davis is 50-years-old and has been action for eons and only in 2014 did she get her first lead role in a TV show, "How To Get Away With Murder". That's huge. In the same way it was huge when America Ferrera and Vanessa Williams had the lead roles on "Ugly Betty". What makes it an even bigger accomplishment is that all were playing successful, smart women instead of the cliched roles minority actors have been relegated to forever. Do you know how big of a relief it would be someday to not even have to add a line about someone becoming the first Black/Latin/Asian person to win an award or snag a certain role? Davis is right that given the opportunity, minority actors can shine just as well as their white counterparts. It is the opportunities that are lacking and we can only do so much to create those for ourselves in an industry that seems intent on not helping the cause. That is what is hopefully on the agenda down the line, and using your moment in the sun, a moment that not only you but those who came before you worked towards, is absolutely the right venue to draw attention to the cause and I applaud her for it. And for some white woman, who I guarantee you has never lost out on a role because she's white, claiming a minority has never been discriminated against (whether she meant in life or in her career) is absolutely delusional and insulting, especially when Davis has been quite vocal for years about her struggles in the industry due to her race.
Once Twitter began to go in on this chick, she went between making excuses for her comments like she supposedly didn't know they would upset people and how she didn't have a PR expert there to proofread her texts. For many, Twitter is instinctive. We go there when we're in the immediate stage of some kind of emotion or feeling some type of way about a current event and we tweet that emotion to the world. But when you're famous (or not famous but just very stupid, like this woman), you better damn well watch what you put out there. And if you choose not to do so, don't bitch about how no one is there to tell you what you're tweeting is racist as fuck. This chick later went on to try and flip the script, claiming she maybe shouldn't have been so accosted by Twitter because she's some kind of friend to minorities, while simultaneously suggesting she only supports them because they support her (or at least they used to). Pick a lane, lady. She should've straight up apologized after realizing what she'd said and left it at that. But then, I guess if you're one to say such things in the first place, you probably have no concept of how to apologize properly.
Listen, I'm a mutt with various colors and heritages coursing through my veins. I can usually see all sides of a situation. But nothing grinds my gears like white people whining about how they've been discriminated against, or telling us minority folk how we think/feel/are or are not discriminated against. Racism of any kind, be it offensive jokes or burning crosses or wanting to build a new fence on the border, is not something anyone is born with, it is a learned behavior often based on misinformation. Do not tell me the playing field is all level now because the President is Black. A Black President doesn't mean I can't get pulled over by the cops who demand to see my "papers" when I'm in Arizona. A Black President doesn't mean people don't stare at me and my multi-racial daughter when we walk down the street. A Black President doesn't mean all minorities are getting free torches and pitchforks from the government to come hunt ya'll white folks down, but some sure act like that's the case and now they're the ones being hated on. Hell, almost eight years into his Presidency, a lot of fuckers still claim Obama is not an American citizen and/or is a Muslim. No leader has had to jump through more hoops, and I guarantee you no one will be demanding a birth certificate from any future President who is white. Like Davis' win, Obama's election was just a small step in what is a monumental, decades old battle. Maybe total equality will be a thing someday, maybe it won't. But we all know it certainly is not that way now.
Once Twitter began to go in on this chick, she went between making excuses for her comments like she supposedly didn't know they would upset people and how she didn't have a PR expert there to proofread her texts. For many, Twitter is instinctive. We go there when we're in the immediate stage of some kind of emotion or feeling some type of way about a current event and we tweet that emotion to the world. But when you're famous (or not famous but just very stupid, like this woman), you better damn well watch what you put out there. And if you choose not to do so, don't bitch about how no one is there to tell you what you're tweeting is racist as fuck. This chick later went on to try and flip the script, claiming she maybe shouldn't have been so accosted by Twitter because she's some kind of friend to minorities, while simultaneously suggesting she only supports them because they support her (or at least they used to). Pick a lane, lady. She should've straight up apologized after realizing what she'd said and left it at that. But then, I guess if you're one to say such things in the first place, you probably have no concept of how to apologize properly.
Listen, I'm a mutt with various colors and heritages coursing through my veins. I can usually see all sides of a situation. But nothing grinds my gears like white people whining about how they've been discriminated against, or telling us minority folk how we think/feel/are or are not discriminated against. Racism of any kind, be it offensive jokes or burning crosses or wanting to build a new fence on the border, is not something anyone is born with, it is a learned behavior often based on misinformation. Do not tell me the playing field is all level now because the President is Black. A Black President doesn't mean I can't get pulled over by the cops who demand to see my "papers" when I'm in Arizona. A Black President doesn't mean people don't stare at me and my multi-racial daughter when we walk down the street. A Black President doesn't mean all minorities are getting free torches and pitchforks from the government to come hunt ya'll white folks down, but some sure act like that's the case and now they're the ones being hated on. Hell, almost eight years into his Presidency, a lot of fuckers still claim Obama is not an American citizen and/or is a Muslim. No leader has had to jump through more hoops, and I guarantee you no one will be demanding a birth certificate from any future President who is white. Like Davis' win, Obama's election was just a small step in what is a monumental, decades old battle. Maybe total equality will be a thing someday, maybe it won't. But we all know it certainly is not that way now.
