Why do black actors and actresses always feel the need to remind us that they’re black? I don’t get it. Of course black people are cast in black roles. Why is that such an accomplishment for them, but not for people of other races?

Are you sure she’s only half African American?

I kinda get it- have you ever watched that movie Birth of a Nation? Black characters were played by white people in black make-up. Of course, that was 80 years ago and as far as I know black people have played black people for at least 60 years…

Black actors and actresses (as ALL people of color in “the industry”) can usually ONLY play roles specifically written for a black person. Think about how many limited roles there are, and how many black actresses / actors there are! What about Asian people! Latinos/Latinas! Don’t get me started! Is Denzel, Sam Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Wesley Snipes and(RECENTLY) Jamie Foxx the ONLY black actors in Hollywood?!? And don’t even get me started on black actresses! Can you name 5?!? Ugh. People who are not of color just don’t get “it” because you never HAVE to think about your color.

Granted the Halle Barry comments were wacky (who WOULDN’T want super powers!??!), but I don’t think she’s the sharpest knife in the drawer anyway.

… (as I step off my soap box)

Halle’s mother is white, and raised her alone. I find it interetsting that she would choose to only identify with the race of her absentee father.

Maria, I’m not sure exactly what you mean… of course black people can only play roles written specifically for black people… it’s the same with any race.

Jordan - Thanks for the comment. I think the point I was making is that there are limited roles available for people of color in hollywood. I should have mentioned that my response was to Tim’s question about why black actors and actresses have to remind us that they are black. Because we, as a society, need to be reminded that people of color are still struggling today. Halle is successful at her trade because a) she’s a good actress and b) she is gorgeous. She just also happens to be black. I keep coming back to the same question as I’m writing this: how many black actresses can I name? And that simple question alone speaks volumes to me. Why can’t I name twenty black actresses (or even TEN?) like I could name twenty white actresses? The struggle of people of color continues.

I think in the perfect world, we would like to say that all people are people, and it doesn’t matter what skin color you are. But I stick to my belief: if you are not a person of color, you don’t THINK you need to think about color. Does that make sense? If you are not a person of color, you don’t have to wonder if you got the job (or didn’t get the job) because of your skin color. If you are not a person of color, you don’t have to wonder why your curly / kinky / course hair or broad nose or dark skin doesn’t look like most of the images of beautiful people that you see in ads and on television. If you are not a person of color, you don’t ever have to feel uncomfortable in a room full of white people. Hollywood is a big ass room full of white people (smile).

Which leads me to my next rambling piont. If I may answer Jen’s question as to why Halle identifies with her absentee father. Because I don’t know Halle, but because I’ve read a LITTLE about the subject of racial identity, and keep in mind that I’m no expert, my guess as to why she identifies with her absentee black father is because society VIEWS her as a black female. … I can hear the argument coming already: “but we don’t SEE Halle as a black female. We see Halle as Halle, a wonderful actress and beautiful woman”. Bologna.

… again, I step off of my soap box. I don’t like being up there! Ew. My point is not to make people agree with me, or to pursuade you to think that I’m right. My point is to ask you to THINK about color. Take some time out of your day, and just really THINK about color in any situation - in the store, on the job. Who are your friends? Who goes to your church? Who’s on the television? By THINKING about color, whether or not you are a person of color, I believe you begine to become more conscientious about who you are and why black actresses and actors always have to remind us that they’re black. Because WE NEED TO BE REMINDED.

Peace.

You make a valid point, Maria.
But hey, can I lighten things up for a sec? Is it me or is Halle’s nip about to make an appearance? hahaha

to answer a prevous question: yes, she is half black…. her mom is white I believe. I love her by the way. I just watched swordfish the other day.

To say that our society needs to “be reminded of the struggles of people of color” is completely ignorant. EVERY race has it’s people who endure hardships and EVERY race has it’s people who are successful. To make such a general comment about the struggles of one specific race is completely imbecilic!!!!!
Yes the ratio of “white” actors to “black” actors is about 100:1 but if you look at how many “white” actors that are pursuing a career in acting as opposed to the number of “black” actors pursuing the same career you will find that the ratio is 100:1. Yes, the ratio of “white” actors surpasses the ratio of “black” actors but if a vast majority of a particular race of people is pursuing one specific career, the chances are that you’ll see more of those people succeeding in that field!!!!
I don’t think it matters what race you are because “prejudice” runs deeper than just what nationality you are. People are judged daily by their sexual orientation, their social class, their gender, their financial status, their appearance, etc. To emphasize the struggles of people solely on their “race” is irrelevant when people today have so many other labels being placed on them!
Jen had a very valid point. Why would Halley choose to only identify with the “black” part of her ethnic make-up when she is more than a “black” woman??? At the beginning of Halle’s career she received recognition for her actual acting abilities, and today she’s receiving more recognition for being a “black” actress. People started concentrating on Halle’s race when she started exploiting it to further increase her publicity!!! Halle could identify with being a “mixed-woman” when she’s on her rampages pertaining to her race, so why does she only identify with being “a black woman” when she’s more than that? I give her massive kudos for her acting abilities and for the roles she has played, but when you start pulling the race card to increase your popularity, I find it a little ludicrous!
In today’s society there are opportunities for all types of people, it’s just a matter of what type of people are choosing to seek those opportunities. Do I feel our society needs to “be reminded that actors are black or not” NO!!! I’m just failing to understand that with all of the major issues that our society is dealing with why there are still people focused on such a minuscule issue like what someones racial make-up is???
Everyone deals with some sort of prejudice at one point or another during their life, it’s just a matter if people are going to focus on that or learn something from the situation and move on!!!

Meilssa - You make some good points, especially the part about people being judged daily for apprearance, sexual identity, social class, etc. I agree. You will note that my arguement was for people of color, not just “black people”. But a poor person white or a poor gay person could still get an audition for all those roles in Hollywood (smile) 100:1. Now an ugly fat person, on the other hand …

You also make an interesting point about how Halle’s has recently chosen to identify herself more as a black woman than a “mixed” woman. Although I stick to my argument that (I THINK, since I do not know Halle or how she feels/thinks) she identifies more with being black than mixed because that’s how society views her, she could be “exploiting her blackness”, much how it seems Mariah Carey all of a sudden seems to be identifying more as a black woman than a “mixed woman”. Who knows …

Lastly, and here I go AGAIN …. if you are not a person of color, you wouldn’t understand “why with all of the major issues that our society is dealing with why there are still people focused on such a minuscule issue like what someones racial make-up is”.

But thanks for the response. At least people out there are THINKING and dialoguing about race. It is still an important issue, and we must still continue to dialogue and question in order to learn from each other.

Peace

You people are so amazingly clueless. It is sad and pathetic. Halle Berry is maybe the only black actress allowed to carry a major Hollywood film… JLo the ONLY Latina. Hollywood is extremely racist and there are few roles for minorities that aren’t pimps, hookers, rappers and thieves. Get a clue fools. Oh, and in this country, being at all brown makes you black (none of you EVER thought to accept Halle as white I am sure). Geez.

“Accepting her” as completely white makes no more sense than “accepting her” as completely black. She’s mixed, and that’s how she should be “accepted”.

I can think of quite a few films that came out recently that feature prominent minority actors (besides “X-Men 3″), including “Akeelah and the Bee”, “Scary Movie 4″, “Phat Girls”, and “Big Mama’s House 2″ off the top of my head. If they didn’t do as well at the box office as some of the other films out right now, it’s because the general public has more interest in other types of films, not because “Hollywood is racist”.

As for your claim that Halle Berry is the only black actress “allowed” to carry a Hollywood film, you are aware that the role of Storm was originally offered to (and turned down by) Angela Bassett and another actress before they offered it to Halle Berry, right? Your sweeping statements about racism in Hollywood have no factual proof behind them, and actually make you look like the “clueless”, “sad”, and “pathetic” one.

saying that hollywood is racist against blacks/latinos because theres more movies starring white people than blacks/latinos is like saying the music industry is racist against whites because theres more music artists that are black/latino than white

Isn’t it intersting that Halle won an oscar for banging the brains out of Billy Bob. She’s not the only person that can carry a film. She’s the only one that people will pay attention to based on symmetry.

I think it IS curious how she only identifies with the black part of her identity. Just because society views her as a black woman doesn’t mean she can or should only identify herself as a black woman. I speak from personal experience. I’m half white, half black. I was raised by my white mother, and I have never once in my life wondered if I got a job, if I got along with someone because my skin is dark. I think it’s because my parents never said to me “be proud of your race.”

Which is another thing I disagree with. If race is unimportant, then why should you be proud of it? And why is it right to say “black pride” or “latino pride” and racist to say “white pride”?

I view Halle as a beautiful woman, period. I personally believe that more so than Hollywood being racist, it’s more about Hollywood ‘type-casting’ actors. Italians are always cast as gangsters, latinos and blacks, as gang-bangers! etc.