{"id":22620,"date":"2023-03-14T18:41:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T18:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/what-were-reading-what-the-oscars-teach-us-about-the-urgency-of-dei\/"},"modified":"2023-03-14T18:41:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T18:41:09","slug":"what-were-reading-what-the-oscars-teach-us-about-the-urgency-of-dei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/what-were-reading-what-the-oscars-teach-us-about-the-urgency-of-dei\/","title":{"rendered":"What We’re Reading: What the Oscars teach us about the urgency of DEI"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Submitted by Jaime Sharp<\/a> on March 14, 2023<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“‘If you are silent about your pain, they\u2019ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.’ This Zora Neale Hurston quote was what started to rattle around my head this morning, after waking up to the news that Angela Bassett\u2019s visible heartbreak – for not winning Best Supporting Actress at last night\u2019s Oscars – was already being critiqued by the talking heads of Twitter for its lack of \u2018graciousness\u2019,” said author Ella McCann-Tomlin for Ardent. <\/p>\n

“Ahh, graciousness. A term that we Black women know all too well. A term that\u2019s lobbed our way anytime we do not show the required level of civility and gratitude for the crumbs that white institutions deign to throw our way. When the facade that we so lovingly craft of agreeability and likeability and \u2018grateful just to be here\u2019 is cracked, even for a moment, the condemnation is always swift.”<\/p>\n

“But imagine being a Black actor that\u2019s been at the very top of her game for over 30 years; someone who should arguably have won multiple Oscars already, but who has only ever been nominated twice. Imagine working in an industry known for its anti-blackness, known for its snubs, and its disrespect – but holding out hope that this could finally be your night. And then being criticised for your authentic reaction to the news that you probably knew was coming, because history has taught you what to expect.”<\/p>\n

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\n“Working in DEI means challenging and critiquing systems. It means wrestling with the hopeful desire to transform institutions that have long excluded certain groups, and the deep concern that these institutions may never truly recognise or include us. When it comes to the Oscars, this mix of joy and sorrow is built into our relationship with the ceremony.”<\/p>\n

“So – many of us are feeling a mixture of emotions today, as is often the case post-Oscars. The many history-making \u2018firsts\u2019 are both a wonderful, heartening sign of progress, and a damning indictment of how far we still have to go. Ke Huy Quan\u2019s admission that (before making his glorious comeback) he quit acting for decades because of the lack of roles for Asian actors isn\u2019t just an inspiring story of grit and perseverance, it\u2019s a shocking revelation about industry-wide racial exclusion. And how wonderful it would have been to finally see a deserving Black actress win for a part in a Black-led film, in which Blackness is not only respected, but celebrated. Angela Bassett\u2019s crestfallen reaction to yet-another snub in a decades-long line of snubs was both heartbreaking and refreshing. It was an invitation for Black women to be authentic (if only for a moment) in a world that expects only graciousness from us. Our pain is valid and we don\u2019t have to be silent about it.”<\/p>\n

Read the full article here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 14, 2023 “‘If you are silent about your pain, they\u2019ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.’ This Zora Neale Hurston quote was what started to rattle around my head this morning, after waking up to the news that Angela Bassett\u2019s visible heartbreak – for not winning Best Supporting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat We're Reading: What the Oscars teach us about the urgency of DEI - United Arts Agency | UAA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/what-were-reading-what-the-oscars-teach-us-about-the-urgency-of-dei\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What We're Reading: What the Oscars teach us about the urgency of DEI - 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