For years we have bared witness to the misrepresentation and complete exclusion of people of color from television and film. Black people in media are often reduced to either stereotypical roles, insignificant sub-characters, or are just left out altogether. With white studio heads running Hollywood, the entertainment industry has been suffering from collective amnesia for over 60 years with its constant need to erase and discredit black faces.
Not only are people of color not fairly represented in Hollywood, but they are often times not rewarded for the work that they actually do in television and film. At last year’s Emmy Awards ceremony, actress Viola Davis became the first black actress to receive the award for best actress in a drama series in the entire history of the awards ceremony. At the Emmy’s earlier this year, Tracee Ellis Ross was the first black woman to receive a nomination for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series in 30 years. Only 53 non-white actors have been nominated for Emmy’s in its history. The apparent diversity in America is not reflected in Hollywood.
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This, in turn, effects how black people are perceived and treated throughout society. These on screen biases are then projected into real life situations and interactions with non-people-of-color, including law enforcement and they become victims of perception. The article also states that television newsrooms are 80 percent white and radio newsrooms are 92 percent white. When biases come from the news media industry it sets the tone for film and television producers to transmit their racial biases into their