for the second year in a row, the 20 major acting oscar nominations are all white. jada pinkett-smith spoke out about hollywood’s racism and called for people of color to invest in our own communities. janet hubert, the original aunt viv from the fresh prince of bel-air, released a video responding to jada’s condemnation.
to say aunt viv didn’t agree with jada’s position is putting it mildly. her viral video goes for blood. in all honesty, i only watched the full video to write this post. i’d initially shut it off because i couldn’t get past her negativity and personal attacks. she came for will — who wasn’t once mentioned in his wife’s video or tweets — and she mischaracterized jada’s point. jada called for greater inclusivity and black folks to claim our power; she never asked other black actors to boycott the oscars. her tweet simply raised the question, “should people of color refrain from participating all together?”
beyond mischaracterization, i disagree with aunt viv’s broader point that jada shouldn’t care about the oscars because it’s “more important things” going on. first, black folks get to care about a variety of issues affecting our people. no one wins when we play oppression olympics, placing a hierarchy on our struggles.
would i tell a young activist to put down their sign protesting the state-sanctioned murder of eric garner because the “more important” issue is global imperialism? would i tell someone who rides to end environmental racism like the contaminated water in flint, michigan to give up their cause because the “more important” issue is police brutality? hell no. we can’t ignore one form of racism and privilege for another.
here’s the lie: it doesn’t matter what “they” think of our art. with an academy that’s mostly male and white and an industry that’s controlled by mostly white men, white supremacist hetero-patriarchy controls the narrative that’s told about people of color’s lives. fortunately, films like beasts of no nation starring idris elba and creed starring michael b. jordan were produced last year, but without the proper recognition, it continues to be difficult to get films like these funded and produced for a broad audience. and where are the films starring southeast asian women? trans men? our stories remain restricted.
aunt viv had a lot to say about will smith, conflating jada’s boycott with her husband’s snub for his role in concussion. will addressed this issue on good morning america, telling robin roberts his wife would have still boycotted the event if he had been the only black person nominated because the issue is bigger than him. plus, jada is often vocal about issues facing the black community — let’s not act like this is her first time calling out structural inequality.
however, even if will smith was the reason for jada’s position on the academy awards, i can’t say it matters much. the personal is political and personal occurrences propel folks into advocacy and activism all the time. think about the mother who fights for prison reform because her son is locked up. being personally invested in the cause you fight for isn’t an inherent conflict of interest.
by claiming “no one cares” about the oscars, aunt viv denied the role mass media plays in the lives of our children. when kids don’t find their reflection, whiteness becomes synonymous with greatness and blackness a source of shame. too many adults of color have the painful memory of longing to be white as children. diverse art has the ability to disrupt this narrative.
i shed tears when lupita n’yongo won an oscar and uzo aduba and viola davis won emmys. not because their wins represented the end of racism, but because i saw my reflection. while celebrating their glory, i celebrated my own. black women won’t have that opportunity this year, and the #oscarssowhite until i have no reason to watch.
will the black lives matter movement develop a ten-point plan to bring diversity to the academy awards? probably not. but the movement’s broader call to end white supremacy and structural racism holds space for us to dissect all forms of injustice — even those that some may deem unimportant.
in full transparency, i understand aunt viv’s sentiment. when nicki minaj noted the underlying racism and sexism in her not being nominated for video of the year at mtv’s video music awards last year, i gave her the harshest side eye. in fact, i accused her of transforming into assata shakur because of a personal issue. i found her vocalness problematic when she’s been silent on other issues affecting the black community. however, seeing aunt viv attack jada for a similar reason made me rethink my own position.
i hate what the anaconda video represents, and it was easy for me to label ms. minaj an unworthy critic. thankfully, my allergic reaction to aunt viv’s judgment was what i needed to reflect my own politics of respectability: booty shorts and twerking don’t undercut nicki minaj’s larger point. black women’s role in music has never been appreciated, and like jada, nicki needed to call out our historical struggle for power and recognition.
whether at the oscars, a classroom or street corner, the fullness of who we are should be respected and appreciated. our talent and brilliance should be acknowledged and rewarded. anyone who contributes a grain of sand to that larger message is all right with me.