More than 300 black artists and executives, including Michael B Jordan, Idris Elba and Viola Davis, have called on Hollywood to divest from the police and invest in black communities in an open letter to the entertainment industry.
The letter, penned by Insecure actor Kendrick Sampson – who was hit by a police baton and shot seven times by rubber bullets during protests against anti-black police brutality in Los Angeles – was developed with Avengers: Endgame star Tessa Thompson and Black Lives Matter co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Melina Abdullah, and co-signed by stars including Viola Davis, Michael B Jordan, Idris Elba, Chadwick Boseman, Octavia Spencer, Cynthia Erivo, Issa Rae, Anthony Mackie, Billy Porter and Danai Gurira.
The letter calls on the entertainment industry to divest from police, de-center white stories and law enforcement perspectives, and to elevate black talent, storylines, careers and pay. It also calls out the entertainment industry for its past and present encouragement of “the epidemic of police violence and culture of anti-blackness”, through numerous movies and shows focusing on the perspective of police.
“The way that Hollywood and mainstream media have contributed to the criminalization of Black people, the misrepresentation of the legal system, and the glorification of police corruption and violence has had dire consequences on Black lives,” the letter reads.
The letter links these portrayals to the killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, and a long history of transphobic portrayals to the recent killings of Tony McDade in Florida, Nina Pop in Missouri, Dominique Fells in Philadelphia and Riah Milton in Ohio.
It follows a similar statement released last week by the collective Black Artists for Freedom, signed by more than 1,000 figures including Trevor Noah, Ava DuVernay and John Legend, calling an end to racial inequality in arts and entertainment and for Hollywood to “break ties with the police”.
The letter also demands accountability for systemic inequity behind the camera, including: gatekeeping agencies which “don’t recruit, retain or support Black agents”; unions which do not consider intersectional concerns and below-the-line black talent; production companies with few if any black people in senior management; and marketing budgets reduced or rendered inadequate by “myths of limited international sales and lack of universality of Black-led stories”.
“White people make up the smallest racial demographic globally, yet their stories are seen as internationally universal,” the letter reads. Despite the recent success of black-led productions such as Marvel’s Black Panther or Melina Matzoukas’s film Queen & Slim, the letter notes, “when we do get the rare chance to tell our stories, our development, production, distribution and marketing processes are often marred, filtered, and manipulated by the white gaze”.
The public callout follows a similar set of demands by more than 300 stage figures including Viola Davis, Lin-Manuel Miranda, André Holland and Pulitzer prize-winner Lynn Nottage to challenge the “white fragility” of the American stage. That public letter also decried the prioritization of white-centered stories as well as the lack of diversity in executive positions, training programs and in casting positions. “You are all a part of this house of cards built on white fragility and supremacy,” it read. “And this is a house that will not stand.”
Other signees of the Hollywood open call include former Black-ish star Yara Shahidi, Alfre Woodard, Queen & Slim star Jodie Turner-Smith, Tiffany Haddish, Sterling K Brown and Taraji P Henson.
The letter demands the entertainment industry take responsibility for the pay mind to the influence of its work, because “by allowing white people to control and oppress the narratives that affirm Black lives, Hollywood has directly and indirectly inflicted harm and oppression onto our communities”.
It ends with five demands echoing calls heard in nationwide protests against police brutality and anti-black racism since the killing of George Floyd in police custody last month: “Divest from police, divest from anti-black content, invest in our careers, invest in anti-racist content, invest in our community.”
