“To me the industry has always said that the lovers and haters and principal characters will always be white in Hollywood, and black people will always be appendages of those kinds of dramas, or they will be comedic outlets. It will never change.” PeopleKindSaidCharacterBlackWhiteIndustryLoversDramaHollywoodBlack PeoplePrincipalOutletsNever ChangeComedic Author:Haile Gerima
“A lot of young black people in America, and even in Africa and Brazil, would say that they are telling their story, but most of the films are like application forms with the formulaic ideas of Hollywood.” PeopleIdeasStoriesAmericaFilmFormYoungBlackHollywoodApplicationBlack PeopleBrazil Author:Haile Gerima
“The system knows how to cherry pick black people. It's like affirmative action - once a year, one is recognized. But what has to occur is self-emergence so if they ignore you, you don't have to disappear.” PeopleIfsKnowsYearsSelfActionBlackKnow HowPicksDisappearBlack PeopleCherriesEmergenceAffirmative ActionAffirmativeYear One Author:Haile Gerima
“To me, entertainment is really the new plantation. It's the new sugar, the new cotton, that black people work for somebody else to be richer than them.” PeopleBlackEntertainmentBlack PeopleSugarCottonPlantations Author:Haile Gerima
“The true story is that black people need to tell their history. Very few films are made by black people about slavery. That itself is a crime because slavery is a very important historical event that has held our people hostage. Forget white people's role in it. In the end what's important is black people remain and live with the scars and psychological issues.” PeopleNeedsMadeImportantEndsStoriesFilmBlackWhiteForgetRolesIssuesEventsCrimeSlaveryHistoricalPsychologicalBlack PeopleScarWhat's ImportantTrue StoryHostageHistorical Events Author:Haile Gerima
“I really do not care what the white world is doing. I care about black people building the monument on slavery.” PeopleWorldCareBlackWhiteBuildingSlaveryBlack PeopleI CareMonument Author:Haile Gerima
