http://blackamericaweb.com/index.cfm...=38423&CATID=5
An editorial cartoon from BlackAmericaweb.com
Commentary:
By Roland S. Martin
BlackAmericaWeb.com
rolandm@BlackAmericaWeb.com
When Halle Berry's name was called Sunday night as the winner in the Best Actress category at the Academy Awards, I tried with all my power to literally shake the foundation of my home with a booming yell.
Not only was I happy to see this talented and gorgeous sister rewarded for her work in Monster's Ball - the first time she has ever been nominated for the prestigious award - it was clearly a breakthrough for the years black women have toiled in relative obscurity in Tinsletown.
Critics at such media entities like Salon.com have criticized Halle for the tears she shed; some even called it a near-nervous breakdown. But no critic was as shameful, pathetic and cynical than Richard Corliss of Time Magazine, who managed to weave in remarks about her hit-and-run accident, past abusive relationships and being the product of an interracial marriage. That's a disgrace and should be noted as such.
Others have suggested, and they include a number of African Americans, that she should have been more dignified in her response and not allow the moment to overwhelm her.
These are the kinds of folks who turn off the lights and throw everyone out of the house to end a good party. It is easy to criticize Halle and all the fuss being made about her win and that of Denzel Washington's for Best Actor. But people should show some respect for an individual's performance and the historical nature of the win.
Regardless of what any of us want to say or think, black female actresses have gotten the scraps in Hollywood. The industry has been far more accepting in providing strong roles for black men then they have for black women. As men, we often don't want to recognize all of the things that black women -- and women in general -- must face when getting acting roles. There is the constant slapping down of some men who want to be put you in their movie if you go to bed with them. There are the demeaning roles of "the sex object," which have nothing to do with one's talents.
Use your imagination to recall the many rejection letters and doors slammed in the face of Halle and other women after a casting call. Think about the roles she had to take that required her sexy figure to be more prominent than her skills. Sit back and imagine spending thousands of dollars on acting lessons, and the best you could get in a film were a couple of lines.
Black women like Hattie McDaniel and Whoopi Goldberg have been honored with Best Supporting Actress Oscars. Yet we all know that the pinnacle of any actor's career is to be considered the leading man and the leading lady. Having your name above the marquee in Hollywood is the same as being the CEO of a company: you're the top dog. And when you have to spend so much time and energy fighting the battles of race and sexism, even the most dogged and determined woman can give up.
You don't have to be Halle Berry or an actor to understand all of this. Imagine yourself receiving an award for something you did. Didn't you think back on all that you had to go through to get to that moment and how it felt good to be validated for the hard work and perseverance? I've been there. And like Halle, I've cried my butt off.
Halle's tears also can be tied to the woman she has carried around with her for so long: Dorothy Dandridge. There is little doubt that Berry crossed a serious threshhold when she did The Dorothy Dandridge Story for HBO. She spent six years trying to get the movie made, and she clearly identified with the struggles of Dandridge and how they somewhat parallel her own.
Ever since doing the Dandridge movie, which won her an Emmy and other accolades, Berry has talked about having a newfound sense of history, purpose and courage to take on more demanding roles. Prior to it, she admitted to being a fragile ego that wasn't sure what her place was in the business.
And when you walk in the shadows of those who came before you, it's proper to recognize them when you do good. I, too, was in tears thinking of what Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge and in the words of Halle, what "every nameless, faceless woman of color" had to endure in order that a Halle Berry could stand on that stage one day.
Those tears are similar to those I have shed when remembering A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and the struggle they had to endure to be unionized. The tears have come when listening to a speech by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he discussed his faith in God while staring death in the eye. The tears flowed in 1984 when Jesse Jackson stood before an audience at the Democratic National Convention, giving a sense of pride and hope for another generation, much like the Fannie Lou Hamer's and Ralph Bunche's did for the previous generation. The tears I shed at the 1995 Million Man March weren't just for that day, but for the countless black men who were on the wall of the Vietnam War Memorial who didn't get a chance to come home.
My heart always aches and my soul forever hears the echoes of our ancestors when such accomplishments are made because my spirit tells me that when they were catching hell, they were saying, "I can't give up because someone will come along after I'm long gone to pick up the torch the continue the journey."
The day after Halle won the sun came up, people went to work, children were at school, the war continued in Afghanistan and peace was still a long way off in Israel. But we should be grateful that we got a chance to witness history.
Hollywood may not all of a sudden open up the floodgates for black actors and actresses as a result of Halle and Denzel's big wins. But we can at least revel in knowing that the accomplishment of one sister as Best Actress in an overwhelmingly white Academy has been duly recognized. And maybe, like Halle said, there is a young woman out there who can turn to her mom or dad and say, "It can happen to me."
Black America, never allow our pain from days past to cause our souls to repress the praise of accomplishments present and future. Our ancestors didn't so why should we?
Roland S. Martin is editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com and news editor of Savoy Magazine.
http://blackamericaweb.com/index.cfm...38428&CATID=11
Pre Oscar photos, etc.
I stayed up to see it!
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