DiCaprio, Minority Progression and All That Jazz!

Writing my paper became so much easier when I heard this news!
I envy those of you who were able to watch the 2016 Oscars. You guys were entertained by Chris Rock who is arguably one of the funniest, black comedians on this side of the hemisphere! No, he was not the guy in the Rush Hour movies. That is Chris Tucker. He is a comedian and he is black but those are two completely different people. Sheesh! Moving on.

I also envy you 2016 Oscar viewers for another reason. In this year's Oscars, one of the most internationally-recognized actors received an award. Congratulations Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio for winning the "Best Actor in A Leading Role"! Granted I would have preferred Mr. DiCaprio winning an award for his role in Inception or Titanic, a win is a win. Need I say that this win was long, long overdue?

I am glad that things went "semi-smoothly" this year. There was a large concern with the lack of diversity in the pool of nominees. I agree that it is a problem worth pursuing. A good number of high-quality African-American actors and actresses were missing from the list that I feel should have been on there. Anybody who saw Creed can testify that Michael B. Jordan's performance was Oscar-worthy. However, the African American community can take steps in addition to protests to make their point. It does not add value to just protest. Protest is good for directing attention to an issue. However, what is the next step? Protest some more and wait for something to be done? As African Americans, constructive steps can be taken to benefit the cause. Award ceremonies already exist that make an attempt to celebrate minority achievements. They should be used as examples to push for the recognition of ALL minorities in the entertainment industry.

It is not enough to just push for one minority. Not just one minority exists. We have people from the United States, Africa, Asia, South America, the Islands, India and the Middle East who are actors/actresses, directors, singers, etc. Let us not forget the Native Americans. All these minorities deserve a chance to be recognized for their contributions to the entertainment industry.

They also have a stake in bringing new ideas and talent into an industry that starves for originality. If all goes well, we may see not just an African American but a Native American or an Asian American or a Middle Eastern American make the list of nominees next year. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, enjoy some jazz. I thought it would be nice to divert from the normal one song post. So I'm sharing two very unique songs. The first is a beautiful piece by Aziz Maraka called "Ya Bent El Nas".

Aziz Maraka Ya Bent El Nas

The second is a song called "Cherokee" by Walela.

Cherokee Walela

Special thanks to Hanna abuzant and Tom Dozier for sharing these wonderful works of art. Please show these people love by liking the songs on their You Tube pages. Don't forget to leave them a kind and thoughtful comment to show your appreciation. Until next time.....