#OscarsSoWhite Because Merit Still Matters in Hollywood

Stuff Black People Don’t Like
January 17, 2016

The gnashing of teeth over the paucity of black people (or colored people) up for Academy Awards is hilarious, a reminder the whole “content of character” B.S. we’ve been force-fed for the past 50 years is nothing more than a universal mandate that whites must never consider believing they have collective interests worth protecting AND preserving. [Ricky Gervais calls out Academy Awards for all-‘white nominees’… as other industry insiders react to lack of diversity, Daily Mail, 1-14-16]

returnjedi
Where’s Harold Cole (hint: he’s the only black person who had anything to do with making Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi)?

From now on, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should have a designated “Harold Cole Award” to ensure a black actor, writer, producer, director, animator, sound editor, film editor, production designer, composer, or visual effect artist gets their due credit.

Who is Harold Cole, you ask?

He was the only black person who worked on George Lucas’ Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, or Return of the Jedi. He was a stage technician, employed by Industrial Light and Magic.

Outside of the affirmative action casting of Billie Dee Williams (because Lucas smarted from being called a racist for having an all-white, all-non black puppet/alien cast in 1977 Star Wars), Harold Cole is basically the only black person who had anything to do with Episodes IV-VI.

So let’s go ahead and set up the Harold Cole Award to join the ranks of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Costume Design, Sound Editing, Film Editing, Production Design, Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Animated Short,

That way, black people get to duke it out to see which one can hold aloft the coveted HCA! After all, if it weren’t for him, there would have been literally no black participation or input into the original Star Wars trilogy.