By Bel Hernandez
Washington, DC — On Thursday, September 24, 2020, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on representation of people of color in the media, both behind and in front of the camera. The hearing, chaired by Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) highlighted the importance of media representation, discussed the potential negative impacts of underrepresentation, and offered an opportunity for Members of Congress and witnesses to discuss concrete steps media companies can take to improve representation. The Judiciary Committee held the hearing after Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), along with Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Congressional Hispanic and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) asked for immediate action be taken to the issues of the lack of inclusiveness of people of color in Hollywood.
During the past month of August Congressman Castro has been meeting with Latinos who work in Hollywood to learn first hand about the lack of representation; the lack of opportunity and the reluctance of the powers that be in Hollywood to recognize and employ Latinos in all areas of the entertainment industry.
Congressman Castro met with the Directors Guild of America whose own report on inclusion for the 2018/2019 time period showed that African-Americans have made strides in the area of directing episodic television, gaining 2% from 2017 to 2018 numbers to reach 15% of all directing jobs. On the other hand Latinos directors are only 6% of that total number. The fact that Latinos are the largest minority in the U.S at 18% of the population (58.9 million), and work less than African American directors by more than half, tells us one thing. Latinos need to speak out louder about the inequities, something the African American community, which makes up 13.5% of the population, has done so well.
On August 18, 2020 Variety published Chairman Castro’s op-ed entitled Latinos Love Hollywood, but Hollywood Hates Latinos on why representation matters and the case for government intervention in the industry.
The information gained from Chairman Castro’s meetings in Hollywood laid the groundwork for the Judiciary Committee Hearing. With its high level of participation of politicians and high profile entertainment creatives, the proceedings and the statements made by witnesses will be entered into the Congressional record for all future generations to, hopefully, hold Hollywood accountable for the expansion of diversity.
For decades members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have addressed the issue of lack of opportunities for Latinos in front and behind the camera. They have taken delegations to Hollywood to meet with studio heads and television executives. They have aligned themselves with Latino organizations in Los Angeles like the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and the DC based Hispanic Foundation For the Arts, founded by Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Merel Julia (Raul Julia’s widow) and attorney Felix Sanchez who runs the organization, in addition to other organizations.
Testifying virtually before the hearing were Actor/Director Erika Alexander (Get Out, Bosch, John Lewis: Good Trouble), Actor/Director/Producer and activist Edward James Olmos (Mayans MC, Bladerunner, Battlestar Galactica), Actor/Producer Daniel Dae Kim (The Good Doctor, Hawaii 5-0, Lost), Stacy L. Smith, Founder and Director of the Inclusion Initiative of the Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism, Jason Whitlock, Sports Journalist, and Karyn A. Temple, Sr. VP and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association, Inc. The only person testifying in person was Recording Artist/Actor/Author Joy Villa.
Will it take an “act of Congress” and this House Judiciary Committee hearing to finally move the diversity needle forward in Hollywood?
Based on the coverage of the hearing, the answer might be a resounding “no”. Out of the four major trades in Hollywood, there was no coverage of the Hearing. Only The Hollywood Reporter ran a story on Daniel Dae Kim’s testimony. A search on the other Hollywood trades’ website, as of this morning, did not turn up any coverage at all. The only other coverage was on the Philadelphia based Al Dia Politics.
If the lack of coverage, of yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on Diversity in America: The Representation of People of Color in the Media, in the trades is any indication of Hollywood’s sincere interest in diversity, what can be expected? The Hollywood trades were not interested in covering a hearing that shines a dim light on Hollywood studios, networks, producers — the very subjects that are the base of their existence. Latinos and Blacks were ignored.
In Edward James Olmos’ submitted witnesses statement, he claims:
Just because there are several successful Latino actors does not mean that Latinos are making it in Hollywood. I can tell you for the fact that those same actors are not testifying before you today because they are afraid. They are afraid of being blacklisted and punished for speaking truth to power. I am not afraid. I have the truth on my side.”
“The media and Hollywood are narrative-creating and image-defining institutions of American culture, yet for far too long Latinos have been hardly represented or depicted as stereotypes. And this erasure has a cost: today there is [a] dangerous nexus between the racist political rhetoric and the images people see on their screen of Latinos as criminals and dangers to society,” said Chairman Castro. “Diversity and representation are not just about jobs, but also the perception of our communities. Now is the time to take a hard look at inclusion of Latinos and marginalized communities in the media and Hollywood, and use every opportunity to push for change. I appreciate Chairman Nadler and the House Judiciary Committee for holding this important hearing.”
Upon the conclusion of the, nearly three hour hearing, Chairman Jerry Nadler told Latin Heat, “As the representative of a district that touches nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry, I have seen first-hand the benefits the performing arts can deliver to communities. However, despite improvements, often what we see on television and in movies fails to reflect the rich diversity of our nation,” and said about Latinos in particular,
Today’s hearing demonstrated clearly that accurate representation of the Latino community and other people of color matters. As our nation engages in much-needed reflection on race and racism, the entertainment industry must do more to promote storytelling that rejects stereotypes, and to ensure diversity both in front of and behind the camera.”
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler
Olmos’ testimony included a video highlighting his non-profit organization, Youth Cinema Project. This organization teaches young kids to be problem-solvers through the hands-on filmmaking process, with the end result being a short film that is produced and shot by the students. In his written statement submitted for the record, he identified one of the reasons Latinos are misrepresented on the screen, “I am here to tell you that they are lazy writers, producers, and directors”, he stated. “They are not writing from a space of truth. They would rather write from what they know and not what they discover.”
The hearing, which was organized by Judiciary Counsels Moh Sharma and Ben Hernandez-Stern, at Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives who worked closely with David Damian Figueroa, Social Justice Activist in gaining the participation of Mr. Olmos, Actor/University Professor/Author, Dr. Alma Martinez and Actor/Artist Pepe Serna, who did not testify but were asked to submit their written statements.
The following are excerpts of Dr. Martinez and Mr. Serna’s written statements:
Will the entertainment industry continue to be defined by the prejudices of their audiences or by their better selves? Most would say the latter but without the will, we are at a stalemate. Therefore, we must look to our elected officials to hear the collective voices of our diverse citizenry that yearns and hungers to see themselves represented with dignity and humanity. The power of the media reaches every corner of the world and with that power, it can be a medium for global healing and peace.
Dr. Martinez’s full Statement can be found here
My purpose for addressing Congress via this statement is to issue a CALL TO ACTION to address and resolve the lack of inclusiveness and diversity in the entertainment industry. I challenge each and every one of you to become more familiar and aware of the struggles and challenges that we as Latino Hollywood actors, producers, directors, technicians, and others supporting our trade face in our day-to-day activities.
Pepe Serna’s full Statement can be found here
”I’m incredibly honored to have helped coordinate and work with Eddie Olmos, Alma Martinez, and Pepe Serna with their oral and written statements for the House Judiciary Committee hearing,” Figueroa said. “They are masters of their crafts and accomplished thought leaders. They have risen to the occasion when it matters most by demonstrating courage for their Latino brothers and sisters in Hollywood. Their voices are so needed as we are in a critical time in our nation’s history. They have shared their personal experiences and thoughts of an entertainment industry that simply refuses to give Latinos any meaningful participation in Hollywood.”
Stacy L. Smith‘s testimony provided the statistics which for the most part supported many of the statements made by Olmos, Kim, and Alexander. Smith quoted from the 2019 USC Inclusion Initiative Study Latinos in Film: Erasure on Screen and Behind The Camera when questioned by Congress. The study, which covers a time frame of movies from 2007-2018, findings on the absence of people of color in Hollywood found: “No meaningful change has been observed in the percentage of Black, Latino, or Asian characters on screen since 2007,” Smith stated.
This study also notes that:
“Only 4.5% of all speaking characters were Latino . This is 13.8 percentage points below the U.S. Census. Despite all of the talk about diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the popular press, these findings represent no change in depictions of the largest ethnic group in America, who also comprise 39% of the population of the state of California, and 49% of Los Angeles’ population.”
While Hollywood continues to ignore all these facts, Latinos continue to demand parity when it comes to representation in film and television.
“Twenty-four years later, the House Judiciary Committee will take up the same subject [diversity], and unfortunately much of the original concerns remain prevalent in Hollywood,” said NHFA’s Felix Sanchez.
Kenneth Romero, Executive Director, National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators spoke of holding Hollywood productions accountable. “Our states, which bankroll many productions through incentives, must hold them to account. NHCSL and CHC are committed to vertically integrate policies that produce results.”
In short. The House Committee Judiciary hearing amplified Hollywood’s diversity problem, highlighting what Latinos and Hollywood have known for decades. The question is…is anybody listening?