Lena Waithe was all smiles when she appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden. However, The Chi creator had something serious to say during her interview.
“I just read The Hollywood Reporter and The Hollywood Reporter has some explaining to do because their list of TV Emmy nominees, like people that are hopefuls, all the black shows are like on the long shot list or a major threat,” Waithe said. “It’s like, don’t act like black television is invisible.”
Waithe proceeded to call attention to the longstanding Hollywood trade publications, such as The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, for ignoring black shows.
“They’ve ignored our shows for so long and they act like we don’t even belong in the conversation,” she told James Corden. “I think it’s unfair. I think it’s not cool and I don’t have any qualms calling them out on that.”
There’s always been ongoing debates surrounding the need for black creatives to receive acknowledgment from white-owned institutions in the entertainment industry.
Several celebrities and their fans have spoken about creating and supporting their own establishments when it comes to aspects of the industry, such as media, distribution and ceremonious acknowledgement. However, it appears that attempts in the past to construct reputable mainstays for black creatives have always been marginalized by the well established mainstream or white entities, whether by happenstance or with intention.
Beyond that, a lot of the times it is nearly mandatory for black creatives to receive a cosign or validation from these white institutions, whether it be the GRAMMYs, Billboard, the Oscars, or any other Hollywood recognized staple, in order for advancement to occur.
This could all change if more of the public figures who are held in high esteem start entertaining the black-owned institutions, media outlets, and more.
Meanwhile, the world of entertainment is experiencing a renaissance in a sense. More black women are making a name for themselves and some unsuspected talented individuals are delivering hit shows.
The list of shows ran by black creatives or featuring a black cast include Issa Rae’s Insecure, Donald Glover’s Atlanta, Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar, John Singleton’s Snowfall, Justin Simien’s Dear White People, Meg DeLoatch’s Family Reunion, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s For Life, Kenya Barris’ #BlackAF and Tyler Perry’s Ruthless, to name a few.
Lena Waithe alone has been killing the TV and film game. The writer, producer and actress currently has The Chi on Showtime, and Twenties and Boomerang on BET. To add to her extensive resume, she now has a series on mobile content app Quibi titled You Ain’t Got These where she delves into sneaker culture.
With that said, it is fair to state that these creatives and their contributions should be acknowledged (via article, award and equity) across the board in the industry, in spite of race or any other discriminative factor.
