by Candice Frank
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs’s presentation on race in the entertainment industry was a great step for the Newhouse Diversity initiative. As an accomplished actor, writer, director and producer, his perspective is valuable to any student that desires to make it in Hollywood. He had numerous “tweet-worthy” quotes that were tweeted with the hashtag #raceENTmedia. He also gave great advice that was simply beneficial to any student seeking to be successful in any career. He believes that his refusal to take ‘no’ for an answer brought him this far. I was intrigued by his interpretation of the word “no”: “To me, ‘no’ means ‘find another way’.”
As an African American student, I related his discussion about struggles with diversity in Hollywood to struggles with diversity in educational institutions. Hilton-Jacobs called Hollywood a racist business, but seemed optimistic about its ability to change. He said, ”The change should come from us.” I believe that Newhouse’s lack of diversity should be approached in the same way. We, as Newhouse students, should take responsibility and work towards becoming a more diverse yet unified student body. I believe that everyone is aware of the importance of diversity.
The challenge: implementing the change.
Hilton-Jacobs discussed how blacks should not “diss other blacks in the media” because things are already difficult enough for blacks in entertainment. I would take this one step further in stating that races should not only support their own race in the industry, but other races as well. This is a step in implementing the change we are seeking.