I’m a black actor. Here’s how inequality works when you’re not famous.

Author: 
Vox.com

I have been a working actor in the Chicagoland area for seven years now. That includes time auditioning for, and performing in, anything from musicals to plays to variety shows to TV to movies. The one common denominator, in all this time, is that I am a black man constantly having to conform my blackness to what white people, mainly men, on the other side of the table believe to be true. These men have no ill intent in their ideas about or depictions of blackness; they also have no lived experience. And mine, as the only actual black person in the room, is almost never valued or understood.

...

So when we yell #OscarsSoWhite, I stand here thinking, "So is the rest of the industry." The inequality starts from the bottom and works its way to the top until it becomes fully institutionalized. And at that bottom level, where it begins, we don't even have the insulation of money to help withstand the burden. We have to worry about that next paycheck to eat.

I couldn't teach that white director that his concept of how black people respond to slurs ran counter to the truth of my life experience for fear of losing out on a job. When a white actor then used a slur with me onstage, I couldn't walk away or demand his job for fear of losing a necessary paycheck and future income. And when a cop physically assaulted me to teach me how to play a part, I couldn't exclaim my displeasure, as this was my big break.

I was voiceless.

I'm getting stronger now. I've found a voice through writing, and I'm less concerned about whether casting directors or theaters want to blacklist me. I am more firmly rooted in who I am and what I will accept. I've realized that I can make a difference by speaking up for other actors who are still too scared to make waves.

But I could use some help.

In a more diverse environment, I believe we could be better. I believe this is something we can achieve. I believe this is something that would be advantageous to all of us, not just minorities. More support. More variety. More truth. And in the end, that's all we want to see reflected from our actors, right — truth?

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/12/10958356/working-black-actor

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