Changing the Narrative of
Black People on Screen
#ChangeHollywood is a vertical within the Color Of Change #ChangeIndustries initiative dedicated to eradicating racism in the film and television industry.
In partnership with Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society, #ChangeHollywood confronts Hollywood’s exclusion of Black talent, the confining of Black characters to supporting roles and stereotypes, and Hollywood’s glorification of policing.
#ChangeHollywood empowers film and television industry allies by providing a Roadmap with five steps and industry-specific subcategories to help create more anti-racist media and support anti-racist workplaces in the entertainment industry and beyond, serving as a resource to help projects replace harmful narratives with more honest, expansive depictions of Black people.
The #changehollywood
Roadmap
CONCRETE STEPS TO DRIVE MEANINGFUL CHANGE
The Roadmap is a guide to move beyond conversation and intention, implementing tangible steps to advance racial justice. It is an invitation to agencies, studios, producers, directors, and screenwriters to step into their full power as storytellers and take action to ensure the industry is working toward racial justice rather than against it.
The five universal steps are:
Black people have entertained America since its inception. However, we have never been adequately recognized, compensated, commemorated, or represented. A key step to #ChangeHollywood is to invest in Black talent and careers by removing barriers, biases, stereotyping, and inequality in representation, casting, and hiring above and below the line, in front of the camera, and behind it, in scripts, and on-screen.
You prioritize what you measure. This broader workplace equity step requires complete and accurate data collection on Black workers in the film and television industry at every level, including within companies, unions, on boards, and associations.
The current rules of cultural production appropriate and marginalize Black people, Black stories, and Black contributions, and perpetuate racism and stereotypes. The rules must be rewritten to prioritize accurate and authentic content about social issues and Black communities created by Black people.
Our country needs to change the narrative on policing, and the film and television industries play a crucial role in perpetuating the myth that police are always good, that we as a society need policing, and that the only Black stories worth telling are ones of pain and danger. Divesting from police and prioritizing Black safety – physically and mentally – is crucial to undoing racism in America.
If the rules around whose communities we support stay the same, none of these steps are possible. The unwritten rules keep the Black community under siege, robbed of resources, equal access, visibility, and rights. Hollywood must invest in the Black community by aligning and partnering with the Black community, promoting civic advocacy and participation, and influencing politics to enhance racial justice. The film and television industry are in constant communication and partnership with government at the local, state, and federal levels – for permitting, tax incentives, job creation, and expert consultations – and should leverage their relationships to benefit not just the industry but also the industry and society.
