On February 15th, 2023 the Griot Institute for the Study of Black Lives and Cultures hosted the first event as part of its “Legacies” theme for the 2022-2023 School Year. The topic of this lecture was “Legacies of Race in Hollywood” featuring Eric Deggans and Shirley Lim. Eric Deggans is NPR’s first full-time TV Critic and author of Race Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation. Shirley Jennifer Lim is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Stony Brook and the author of Anna May Wong: Performing the Modern. Together, these two authors and historians gave concurrent presentations about the various ways in which the legacies of race and racism impact our perceptions of Hollywood. Dr. Lim spoke extensively about the life and legacy of Anna May Wong, adding color to her life by explaining to the audience the ways in which the racial climate of the era and the specific anti-Asian sentiments in Hollywood impacted her career. Anna May Wong was limited in where she could live, what roles she could take, and how much money she was paid based on her race. Mr. Deggans extends this argument and begins to discuss the way that race in general has impacted the ways in which we consume media as a whole and how Black characters specifically are represented in popular media formats. Overall, the two authors being in conversation allowed participants to further critique the media we consume and the ‘projects’ those media forms are undertaking whether it is to highlight and expose racial tensions or normalize them.
– Jerra Holdip