I think when I created #OscarsSoWhite—this was January 2015—I had maybe eight thousand followers. So it wasn’t the huge platform that I have now. And I think it resonated with people, but to be honest, #OscarsSoWhite didn’t really take off until the following year, 2016, because that was the second year in which there were no people of color nominated for any of the acting categories at the best actor/actress or best supporting actor/actress levels. That means there were twenty slots that went to white folks.
I think people were taking it as, Okay, first time is a fluke; the second time is a pattern. And it was, Okay maybe this woman has something here.
In my opinion, many industries are entering a moment where they are being held accountable for their lack of space for and investment in people of color, and a lot of it is starting with young people. Many generations have added seats to the table, and I think younger generations now are focused on creating tables, which April spoke to as well. I believe #OscarsSoWhite is an example of why that is happening.
APRIL: I think part of #OscarsSoWhite’s staying power is that everybody’s talking about diversity and inclusion. And it’s not just with respect to entertainment. It’s also journalism. It’s also tech. No industry is not touched by the fact that the more diverse your workforce is, the more money you make. It’s statistically proven.
We may not agree on the merits of the Dave Matthews Band, but one thing we can both agree on is the greatness that is Star Wars. (That’s right, high-school-teacher-whose-name-isn’t-worth-printing-in-this-book, OTHER Black people like Star Wars, too!)
APRIL: I think the first movie that I recall seeing in a theater was Star Wars, what we now know as Episode IV, A New Hope. And I was seven at the time. That was 1977. Oh yeah, I’ve always been interested in a wide range of films. If it moves me, I’m interested in it. I don’t like doing labels for myself. So I definitely don’t like doing it for the entertainment I consume.
Because I don’t like labels, I don’t think that I ascribe to them. I like what I like. . . . It’s just never been an issue for me about labeling something that I’ve liked and didn’t like and what it meant or anything. I think I had the privilege to not have to be put into a particular silo with respect to the kind of stuff I liked. It wasn’t always what people refer to as Black films or whatever. If I were to list my top five films, The Godfather one and two (we don’t speak of three) would be in that group. And the one time that they referenced Black people in either of those films, they were using the word “nigger.”
Before I continue, I have to address something. In this book, the n-word comes up a few times. I was asked whether I wanted to censor it, or write “n-word,” since the book is intended for a white audience, who shouldn’t be saying that word. But that isn’t authentic. So I will say this: if you’re not Black, don’t say it. Just because it’s in the book, that doesn’t mean you can read it aloud. Thanks!
APRIL: I think it’s crucial that kids at a young age see themselves presented in a variety of ways. And even more so for marginalized kids. And when I say “marginalized” for this conversation, I’m talking about all of the categories that I talked about with #OscarsSoWhite, so not just race but also sexual orientation and gender identity and disability and ethnicity.
One of the first times that I’ve recognized Blackness as being something special was seeing Roosevelt Franklin on Sesame Street. Even though the Muppet itself was purple, you could tell that this was representing a Black kid, a Black kid with a single mom from the projects.
I think that’s why shows like The Cosby Show, putting all of the sh*t with Bill Cosby aside, but shows like The Cosby Show were important, because they showed a family who had, for some people, “made it.” The father’s a doctor; the mother’s a lawyer. They’re upper middle class. They don’t appear to want for anything. And then I think Cosby did a good job as Dr. Huxtable—there was that one episode with Theo and the Monopoly money. He’s like, “We’re rich. You don’t have anything, Theo.”
April is referring to the pilot episode of The Cosby Show. In that episode, one of the children in the family, Theo, thinks he doesn’t have to do well in school or get a good job because his parents are well off. His father, played by Bill Cosby, teaches him a life lesson about the fact that he still needs to go out and make something of himself. There is an underlying message that it’s that much more important for Theo to work hard because he’s Black.
These types of lessons carried on throughout the eight years that The Cosby Show ran. In fact, social scientists were brought on to make sure the show didn’t feed into any negative stereotypes about Black people. The Cosby Show also led to the highly successful spin-off sitcom A Different World, which was about Denise, one of the Cosby daughters, attending an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) during its first season.
While Bill Cosby is a piece of garbage, no one can deny that both The Cosby Show and A Different World were crowning achievements and guidelines not only for Black representation but for how people of color could be represented as a whole.
If you haven’t seen either show, I suggest you do.
April had more to say about the importance of representation from a broad standpoint and how it helps people of color.
APRIL: So it’s just like the movie Coco, how important it is for Latinx kids to see a vibrant kid who wants to be an artist, who also wants to support and be respectful of the family, but needs to live his truth. How fantastic is it that there are really young kids who are able to see that early on? And I think that’s especially important for kids who are growing up knowing that they are going to have some challenges because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
This is why movements such as #OscarsSoWhite, films like Black Panther, and artists like Lil Nas X are so important. They offer the ability for people to be seen in authentic ways that aren’t simply the manifestation of how someone else has stereotyped them.
April ended our conversation with a few final thoughts on bigotry and privilege:
APRIL: I think that racism is learned, right? And we’ve seen that. Racism, unfortunately, or thoughts of bigotry and prejudice and so on, start in the home. And so . . . if you’ve got your father or mother or caregiver who is deeply ensconced in bigotry and discrimination, and that’s all you get, then hopefully this book will help show that there is another side.
When’s the last time you’ve had a person of a different ethnicity or a different sexual orientation in your home? To study or just to play PS4 or what have you?
These last questions resonated deeply with me, because that’s why I wrote this book and, I hope, why you’re reading this. I want us to be more complete people. That starts with dropping our assumptions about a person. It starts with learning their stories.
And most important? It starts with Nabisco compensating me and millions of others who have been tormented because of Oreos.
Growing up, I was one of those kids who always had their head in a book. You know, the type of ten-year-old who reads encyclopedias and watches documentaries for fun.
I loved learning new things. I also loved that learning kept me distracted from the fact that I didn’t have many friends.