It was African American night at the Oscars — and I loved it. From the emotional Halle Berry best actress acceptance breakdown, to Whoopie Goldberg’s jokes and on to the measured, solemn speech from Sidney Poitier about the long upward journey of blacks in film, the celebration of African Americans in the movies reigned supreme.
Berry’s honor was indeed a breakthrough as the first black woman to win the best actress award. “Monster’s Ball” is a story about a death row guard who falls in love with the wife of a man he executes. Critics have commended both Berry and Billie Bob Thornton, who plays the guard, for performances that avoid racial cliches.
Best actor, of course, went to African American Denzel Washington who played a veteran cop training a rookie on LAPD’s tough narcotics beat. I loved Whoopie¹s kidding about the black issue, saying African Americans had something to say about Robert Redford’s career such as movies “Jemimah Johnson” and “The Way We Wuz.”
A discussion the next day with friends about the awards got me to thinking about the whole issue of privilege and the oppression that still exists in our society. Why was it such a big deal that Berry broke down, crying so hard she couldn’t speak?
I remember well a period in my life when I realized some of my suffering was not mine alone, not personal, but because I was born a woman.
In the 60s and 70s the National Organization of Woman (NOW) made available across the country materials for women to set up their own consciousness raising groups. I set up one of these groups, bringing together friends and acquaintances to participate in exercises and discussion of the realization of things in our life that reflected discrimination and prejudice about
women.
There was a term, “the click,” that was used to describe those moments whenas a woman we “got “ it — when we realized something that just happened was the result of discrimination.
We were pretty angry in those days, I remember, when we realized that the only careers we even considered were teacher or nurse, when we watched a man move up even in a small restaurant business to make more money than the woman who started at the same time with the same qualifications, and when someone made a depreciating sexist remark. I’m afraid our poor husbands got the brunt of it, and it really didn’t belong to them. Although you can bet
there was some male consciousness being raised just living with us.
Discrimination and prejudice is not limited to people of color, women, and other “minority” groups. I have a dear white male relative who is pretty sure he didn’t get into medical school because of “diversity” preferences for admission. And there is the more recent realization that fat people are denied equal treatment in many ways.
Any time something happens, or someone makes a comment that reflects an assessment based on stereotype, it is grist for consciousness raising. It is difficult to go through life seeing everyone who crosses our path as the unique individual he or she is — to take the time to make a reasoned assessment and not a hasty judgement. It’s difficult, but not impossible.
I lived for a time on an Indian reservation in New Mexico and had the experience of being a true minority with my blondish hair and blue eyes. I made many faux pas there and for the most part people were kind and understanding, treating me better than many of them were treated in the mainstream.
But I will never forget the few times I was shunned just because of being white. The tribe had just gone through a bad experience with another white woman who had ingratiated herself into their lives and then went off to write a book they saw as exploitive. I wasn’t that women, but I had the same first name. I remember wanting to shout “It wasn’t me – that’s not what I’m like.”
All these are valuable experiences that have given me compassion for those who’ve suffered much more than I and for generations, fighting prejudice that limited them in obvious and subtle ways.
So I agree with Halle Berry who said through her tears, “This moment, this moment — is so much bigger than me.”
April 6, 2002