The showbiz publications are gushing about how ''the Emmys hit a diversity milestone'' as ''4 black actors swept the guest actor categories.''
There were: Tiffany Haddish (''Saturday Night Live'') and Katt Williams (''Atlanta'') for Guest Actress and Actor in a Comedy, plus Samira Wiley (''The Handmaid's Tale'') and Ron Cephas Jones (''This Is Us'') for Guest Actress and Actor in a Drama. And kudos to them for making history.
But for the record, in 2016, 4 African-American swept the acting categories for musicals at the Tonys: Leslie Odom Jr., Cynthia Erivo, Daveed Diggs and Renee Elise Goldsberry. (Erivo won for ''The Color Purple,'' while the others, of course, won for ''Hamilton.'')
Which brings me to my main gripe: Why does the media only seem to see diversity literally in black and white terms?
Just how truly ''diverse'' are awards when only one race dominates certain categories? (Awards reflect who gets award-caliber opportunities.)
To me, real diversity happens when its winners also include Latino actors. And Asian-American ones. And Native Americans. And Arab Americans. Etc., etc. And even here, we saw a preview at the Tonys. This year, the award-winning actors of musicals were Tony Shalhoub (Arab-American), Katrina Lenk (Eastern European), Ari'el Stachel (Israeli Yemenite/Jewish-American) and Lindsay Mendez (Mexican/Russian Jewish).
Ultimately, we'll know when we've really achieved it when we no longer need news stories (or posts) to point out the historic, ethnic firsts. |
