120114 Where Prejudice Lives

Why? Because the Adversary wants us to fight. Power corrupts, and Hollywood has enormous power.

"You would think that someone considered one of the most powerful players in Hollywood, a man who has made billions with blockbusters such as the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" franchises, would have been able to get "Red Tails" approved without any hesitation. Yet many African-Americans have long known that in Tinseltown, the color of your skin -- or that of the people in the story you want to tell -- often falls victim to racial pigeonholing.

Oh, sure, Hollywood is seen as a liberal bastion where folks talk about equality and supporting civil rights, but when it comes to telling stories that have mostly black casts, Hollywood might as well return to the '50s and '60s and erect signs that say "Whites Only."

Roland Martin

When Lucas approached the major Hollywood studios about backing "Red Tails," he was told: Thanks, but no thanks.

"There's no major white roles in it at all ... I showed it to all of them and they said no, we don't know how to market a movie like this," Lucas told Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.

Let's juxtapose that against some other facts:

-- In 2008, 69 million people voted for Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States;

-- The most talked-about woman in America over the past 25 years was Oprah Winfrey, who redefined the talk show genre;

-- Which athlete has the top-selling jersey in the NBA? LeBron James;

-- Who is considered the top-grossing actor? Samuel L. Jackson;

-- Arguably the greatest entertainer of all time is Michael Jackson;

-- The greatest golfer in the world? Tiger Woods;

-- The most dominating players in women's tennis? Venus and Serena Williams;

-- The top singer today? Beyonce;

-- And hip-hop, an outgrowth of black culture, is a worldwide phenemonon. And 80% of the consumers of hip-hop music in America are white kids.

So whites all across America have come to accept African-Americans in a variety of public media, but Hollywood continues to want to tell us that somehow seeing blacks on the big screen is anathema to their values.

Maybe what no one in Hollywood wants to own up to is that in many ways, it is a close-minded society where it's hard to find African-Americans in positions of true power.

In the history of Hollywood, no African-American has ever headed a major studio. Yes, we've seen Black CEOs at American Express, Time Warner, Xerox, Merrill Lynch, Symantec and other major companies, but the doors of opportunity are closed in Hollywood.

Does this mean African-Americans aren't hired? No. But those are low-level positions where they desperately fight the good fight, knowing full well they will never ascend to the top of the food chain in Hollywood."  

-- full story at  http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/opinion/martin-red-tails-hollywood/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn