lune 26, 2013
^jJnrtlanò (Ohserücr
Page 7
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the
Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and
story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
Broadway’s Racial Maturity didn’t come Easy
2013 Tony
Award winners
take center
stage
by
M arc M orial
On June 9, Ci­
cely Tyson became
only the third Afri­
can
A m eric an
woman in the 67-
year history of the Tony Awards
to win top honors for Best A c­
tress in a Broadway play.
She won for her mesmerizing
portrayal o f Carrie W atts, a
widow in search of her past in
“The Trip to Bountiful.”
In 2004, Phylicia Rashad be­
came the first African Ameri­
can woman to win Best Actress
for her portrayal of the matri­
arch, Lena Younger, in a revival
of Lorraine Hansberry’s clas­
sic, “A Raisin in the Sun.” Viola
Davis won in 2010 for her role as
the wife of Troy Maxson as
played by Denzel W ash­
ington in the Broadway re­
vival of August W ilson’s
“Fences.”
In a c a re e r th at has
spanned more than half a
century, this was Cicely
Tyson’s first Tony Award.
It came after a 30-year absence
from the Broadway stage. In
accepting her award she ex­
pressed her gratitude for being
able to fulfill “a burning desire to
do one more great role.”
Her aw ard not only caps a
career that includes aw ard ­
w inning perform ances on the
stage, screen and television, it
1
confirm s the fact that black is
back on Broadway. On Tony
night, Cicely Tyson shared the
spotlight with three other A fri­
can A m erican actors who took
hom e Tony A w ards: Billy
Porter, Best A ctor in a M usi­
cal - “Kinky B oots;” Patina
M iller, Best A ctress in a M usi­
cal — “P ippin;” and C ourtney
B. Vance, Best A ctor in a fea­
tured role - “Lucky G uy.”
In addition to cheering the
achievements of Ms. Tyson and
the other A frican A m erican
Tony winners, we should also
celebrate the fact that African
A m erican actors continue to
make great strides on Broad­
way.
In fact, over the years the
great white way has featured
and recognized many more black
performers than Hollywood. In
1950, Juanita Hall became the
first black entertainer to win a
Tony Award for her portrayal of
Bloody Mary in South Pacific.
Since then, 49 Tony Awards
have been awarded to black
actors and actresses, compared
to only 14 Academy Awards for
black actors and actresses since
1939.
Broadway’s racial maturity
has not come easy. From 1890
to 1910, most of the blacks on
Broadway were featured in Af­
rican American minstrel shows,
playing to all-white audiences.
It was not until the 1935
p r o d u c tio n
of
G e o rg e
G ershw in’s “Porgy and Bess”
that African A m ericans really
hit it big on Broadway. The
m om entum has continued to
build. The late A ugust W ilson
has a theater nam ed after him.
A udre M cD onald has won five
Tony A w ards, tying her with
A ngela L ansbury and Ju lie
H arris for the m ost in a career.
And like C icely Tyson, m ore
black actors and actresses are
being cast in roles originally
w ritten for w hite perform ers.
It should also be noted that
Ron Simons was the fifth A fri­
can American to win a Tony this
year as Producer of “Vanya and
Sonia and Masha and Spike,”
which won the Tony for Best
Play.
We congratulate all of this
year’s African American Tony
winners. We hope their success
will bring more blacks to Broad­
way - both in the audience and
on the stage.
M arc M orial is p resid en t
and chief executive officer o f
the National Urban League.
Waves
Racist attack
didn’t occur in a
vacuum
by
R aul
A.
R eyes
own party. Meanwhile, our na­ adjust their status. King and
tion continues to grow more di­ his R epublican colleagues in
verse, putting the GOP out of the House o f R epresentatives
step with a changing America. passed the anti-D A CA m ea­
After the 2012 presi­ sure know ing full well it has
d e n tia l e le c tio n , in zero chance o f becom ing law.
w hich L atino voters
W hy? B ecause they have
overwhelmingly backed no qualm s about being seen as
B arack O bam a, the openly hostile to im m igrants.
smart approach for the M oreover, H ouse Republicans
z
GOP would have been rem ain opposed to com prehen­
to adopt a more inclu­ sive im m igration reform.
/
siv e to n e to w ard s
These narrow views put them
Latinos in particular and immi­ outside of the political main­
grants in general. That's not what stream. A recent New York
happened.
Times poll found that 83 percent
In M ay, R epresentative Don of Americans support compre­
Young (R-AK) used the term hensive reform, including a path
"w etbacks" in a radio inter­ to citizenship for the undocu­
view . S enator Je ff Sessions m ented. The anti-im m igrant
(R-A L) routinely refers to un­ crowd is also bringing down their
docum ented people by the pe­ party. The research firm Latino
jo rativ e term "illegals." R e­ Decisions has found that when
cently, R epresentative Steve Republican politicians speak
King (R-IA ) com plained about negatively about immigrants, it
the "illegal aliens" who "in­ doesn't only reflect poorly on
vaded" his office, in reference them, it gives Hispanic voters a
to the young, undocum ented negative view of the Republican
im m igrants who organized a Party as well.
protest there.
As R epublican law m akers
The young people were pro­ continue with this rhetoric, our
testing in King's office because country is undergoing a dem o­
he sponsored a bill to defund graphic shift. The U.S. C en­
the D eferred A ction for C hild­ sus Bureau reports that for the
hood A rrivals program , which first tim e, the num ber of racial
allow s people brought to the and ethnic m inority babies be­
U.S. illegally as children to ing born has passed that of
r
r L. 1
B e fo re
gam e
three of the recent
NBA Finals in San
Antonio, Sebastien de
la Cruz stepped up to
the microphone and
belted out the National Anthem.
Decked out in his mariachi suit,
the 11-year-old "America's Got
Talent" alum wowed the crowd
with his singing.
On social media, racism reared
its head. "This lil Mexican snuck
into the country like 4 hours ago
now he is singing the anthem,"
read a tweet that formed part of
an online river of hate. "This kid
is Mexican why is he singing the
national anthem," tweeted an­
other com m enter, adding the
hashtag #gohome.
It's sad that a child should
become the target of such ugly,
anti-immigrant sentiment. How­
ever, these views didn't arise in
a vacuum. The fact is that Re­
publican lawmakers have be­
come accustomed to demoniz­
ing immigrants, to the detriment
of our civil discourse and to their
w hite babies. The D istrict of
Colum bia, H awaii, California,
New M exico, and Texas are
already "m inority-m ajority"
states, and eight other states
will join this list by 2020.
If the GOP does not soon
adopt a "big tent" approach, it
risks m arginalizing itself as a
national party.
Yes, the changing face of
the U.S. may seem frightening
to some people. But the GOP
shouldn't play upon these fears
— it should help dispel them.
C onsider that the Pew H is­
panic C enter has found that
Latino im m igrants assim ilate
and learn English ju st like ev­
ery other group before them.
O r even that the pint-sized
m ariachi crooner de la Cruz
was born in Texas — the son
of a U.S. Navy veteran.
This story has a happy ending.
The San Antonio Spurs invited
de la Cruz back a second time, to
sing the National Anthem at
game four of the NBA Finals.
Everyone from President Barack
Obama to "Desperate House­
wives" star Eva Longoria wished
him well, and he nailed his en­
core performance.
With determination and confi­
dence, young S ebastien tri­
umphed over bigotry. What could
be more American than that?
Raul A. Reyes is an attorney
and columnist in New York City.
S b l l H s c r i H p f 503-288-0033
O U U S C I I U C ’ Fill Out & Send To:
^Jorilanb (Pbseruer
Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208
$45.00 for 3 months • $80.00 for 6 mo. • $ 125.00 for 1 year
(please include check with this subscription form)
N ame : ________________
T elephone :
A ddress : _
or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com
J