February 10, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
Gil Robertson: The African American Film Critics Association
Co-founder and president of critics’ group talks about race, Hollywood and this year’s awards
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
G
il L. Robertson IV is one of Amer-
ica’s foremost authorities on Af-
rican American pop culture. As
a journalist, author, lecturer and
media consultant, he is responsible for
literary works and intellectual proper-
ties that provide platforms for social
change and personal growth.
Gil is the editor of the bestselling an-
thologies Family Aff air: What it Means
to be African American Today, and the
2006 release, Not in My Family: AIDS in
the African American Community, both
nominated for NAACP Image Awards
in the Outstanding Non Fiction catego-
ry.
He is also the author of Writing as a
Tool of Empowerment, a resource book
for aspiring journalists, and Where Did
Our Love Go: Essays on Love & Relation-
ships in the African American Commu-
“
Georgia and the Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture in New York
City.
A graduate of Cal State Los Angeles,
Gil is the founder and editor of the na-
tionally syndicated Arts & Lifestyle col-
umn, the Robertson Treatment which
appears in 30 newspapers across the
country boasting a readership in ex-
cess of 2 million.
Here, Gil talks about the 7th Annual
African American Film Critics Associ-
ation Awards ceremony held Wednes-
day, February 10th in Hollywood.
KW: Congratulations on the AAFCA
Awards which has grown in stature in
recent years.
GR: Thanks, Kam. Yes, this is our 7th
year and, although we’re experiencing
a little itch, it’s all good. We’re celebrat-
ing Straight Outta Compton and Ryan
Coogler from Creed, as well as Teyo-
nah Parris from Chi-Raq. Our Special
The Oscars are never going to give us the due
that we feel we deserve — and that’s okay. As
a community, we must move past that and in-
stead support the institutions that do
nity. And Just Us Books is set to release
his fi rst children’s book, Great African
American Political Leaders.
Gil is a co-founder and President
of the African American Film Critics
Association (AAFCA), as well as the
founder of the Robertson Treatment’s
Media Workshop, an annual journal-
ism initiative presented at the Auburn
Avenue Research Library in Atlanta,
Achievement honors are going to the
terrifi cally talented John Singleton and
Reginald Hudlin, as well as business
phenoms Jeff Clanagan and Maverick
Carter. It’s truly a special night!
KW: Is it safe to assume this year’s
ceremony will be better attended than
ever, given the number of stars calling
for a boycott of the Oscars aft er the
my Awards and you say your awards
are based solely on merit — without
consideration to race or gender — but,
historically, all the awards are going to
White people. [There are] a few excep-
tions when a Black performance was
just so elevated that it couldn’t be ig-
nored, like a few years ago when Lupita
Nyong’o won for 12 Years a Slave.
Gil Robertson
Academy failed to nominate any Black
actors or actresses for the second year
in a row?
GR: Our show has always attracted an
amazing array of executives and cre-
atives from the fi lm and TV community,
as well as an impressive list of celebrity
talent. We look forward to giving them
a high-quality event.
KW: Isn’t it very revealing that Sly
Stallone was nominated in the Support-
ing Actor category for Creed, but its Af-
rican American star, Michael B. Jordan,
and director, Ryan Coogler, were both
snubbed? And the only nomination
garnered by Straight Outta Compton,
which featured a Black cast and direc-
tor, was for its script which was writ-
ten by four whites.
GR: Now let’s have real talk. While
the Academy doesn’t blatantly promote
itself as an organization for Whites
only, it’s hard to see the Oscar as an
award for all. That’s the big elephant in
the room. You call yourself the Acade-
KW: How long do you think it’ll take
for the Oscars to be more inclusive?
Its president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs,
who is African American, recently an-
nounced plans to double the number of
minority voters by 2020. But if blacks
are about 4 percent now, that’s just a 1
percent increase per year. Would that
likely alter the outcome?
GR: Ms. Isaacs is putting the work in,
and I’m very confi dent that the seeds
she plants will grow. Change takes
time and, as Hollywood mirrors larger
American society, this process will too.
KW: Besides off ering an alternative
to the the Oscars, why should people at-
tend the AAFCA Awards?
GR: The AAFCA Awards are neces-
sary because they off er us an opportu-
nity to celebrate ourselves. The Oscars
are never going to give us the due that
we feel we deserve — and that’s okay. As
a community, we must move past that
and instead support the institutions
that do. Black people, your support is
necessary and you cannot sit out this
party, if you’re serious about wanting
to see some real change.
Read the rest of the interview at
TheSkanner.com
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