By Alexander Speid, The Westside Gazette
On February 2nd of 2020, The 73rd British Academy Film Awards took place with a star-studded gathering of famous actors, actresses, directors, and other media personalities of the like.
However, the actor that made the largest waves on Social Media, was none other than the actor for the award-winning comic book film, “Joker,” Joaquin Phoenix. Upon winning the award for Best Leading Actor, the actor of the famous Batman villain went on to thank the academy and show his appreciation, but quickly motioned to systemic injustice in the film industry.
“I think that we send a very clear message to People of Color, that you’re not welcome here.” He said. “I think that’s the message that we’re sending to people who have contributed so much to our medium and our industry, and in ways that we benefit from.”
Joaquin goes on to say that he, too, is a part of the evident injustice.
“This is not a self-righteous condemnation, because I’m ashamed to say that I’m a part of the problem. I have not done everything in my power to ensure that the sets I work on are inclusive. But I think that it’s more than just having sets that are multicultural. I think that we have to really do the hard work to truly understand systemic racism. I think that it is the obligation of the people that have created and perpetuate and benefit from a system of operation, to be the ones that dismantle it, so that’s on us.”
In his speech, Joaquin makes great note of Systematic Racism in our society, but still, some are unaware of its signs.
Institutionalized Racism, or Systematic Racism, refers to the discriminatory treatment of People of Color, through many institutions; including the world of film, which was the point of Joaquin Pheonix’s speech. It is also reflected in many fallacies of our daily lives—whether it be through the criminal justice system, housing, education, and even political power. Much of this complex rose from the historic tragedy of Slavery and has steadily been cemented as the unspoken factuality that plagues the African American community to this day.
The term “institutionalized Racism” was originally conceived from the 1967 book Black Power: The Politics of Liberation by Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) and Charles V. Hamilton. In their book, they describe institutionalized racism as a more subtle and less overt nature that receives less publicity than that of individual racism.
To speak of Systematic Racism, one cannot discuss its concept without speaking on the ignorance of its affects. Silence is the largest perpetuator of Systemic Racism. To see injustice, yet stay silent to its wrongful effects against People of Color, was the focus of Joaquin’s entire speech.
There have been many white people who have actively spoken out against Systematic Racism, along with many other wrongs done to People of Color. While they consider it as progress, another issue all-together begins to rise. Their defense for People of Color is gone about in a way that instead silences the very people they are trying to defend.
There is a definitive difference between speaking on one’s own privilege for the sake of helping the disenfranchised and wanting attention to appear on the right side of history. That difference is empathy for the ones wronged, with a genuine desire to see justice.
Despite Systematic Racism being a part of a continual drag amongst People of Color, it is up to us to fight its effects through our words and our actions. So long as there are people like Joaquin Phoenix to speak out against the inequality of our society, there can still be a chance to once and for all dismantle it. But it is all on us.
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