Black Charges of Jewish Racism in the Entertainment Industry

It is unfortunate that my statements as a panelist for the NAACP on Afro-American film and marketing distribution would be taken out of context and cause adverse reaction from Jewish people (Metro, July 11-12).

My statement, in response to a question I was asked about the Jewish entertainment business, was: “I’m sure when the Jews set up their business they didn’t set it up for you, they set it up to make money from their perspective of what would make a successful business, and if we had set it up we would have done the same thing.” (Writing half of this statement takes it out of context.)

I went on to say that we have got to stop worrying about what “other” people are and are not doing and start worrying and talking about what we are going to do. If we don’t like the films and TV shows that are being made, don’t watch them. Assault weapons are being brought into our neighborhoods and our children are buying them not because they want to be Rambo, but because they want the power and they want to feel important. Criminal behavior is being imitated because it is glorified on the screen and we support it. The children belong to all of us. We must help them instead of ignoring them.

God is the only power and each of us is made in his image. We can do anything we want to do. We can start our own film and distribution company. We have enough churches, sororities, fraternities, social and business groups to accomplish this. When positive films are made by blacks we do not support them. It’s just as important to know what we want as what we don’t want.

It is time for us to take care of our own neighborhoods. Our children, our businesses and our communities need our support. Let’s get about the business of our own agenda. Worrying about other people is not going to solve the homeless, the gangs, drugs or the unemployment problems.

I hope that we as blacks will run the $260 billion we spend in this country through our community more than once and devote at least 20% of it to not only solving our problems but creating an economic base.

Often good can come from a bad situation. After years of differences I hope my misquote can be a catalyst for Jews and blacks to come together and find common ground for a positive future both in and out of Hollywood.

MARLA GIBBS

Los Angeles