NAACP President Says Post Will Be Set Up in L.A. in ’98

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said Thursday that the organization would establish a Los Angeles branch by next spring that would help monitor and improve the hiring and portrayals of African Americans in the entertainment industry.

While saying he was pleased with increases in the number of blacks performing on television and film, he maintained that the directing and writing ranks are still “woefully inadequate” when it comes to African Americans.

Mfume said he has been pulled in too many directions since taking over the NAACP in February 1996--such as erasing the organization’s financial debt and pursuing political and economic empowerment for minorities--to establish much of a relationship with the entertainment industry.

But he said he now feels he has more of a grip on Hollywood because of talks he has had with actors and others in the industry, and creating a bond between Hollywood and the NAACP will be a priority.

“We’re going to establish a presence here, just like we have in Washington, New York and Atlanta,” Mfume said. “We want to have a working partnership with the studios and the guilds. It will not be predatory, but we want a presence that will engage in seriously overseeing what’s happening in Hollywood, and in serious dialogue. We’re not asking for benevolence. All we want is opportunity.”

Mfume spoke about the NAACP’s increased involvement in Hollywood following a press conference in Beverly Hills to announce nominees for the 29th NAACP Image Awards, which will take place in February at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The awards honor outstanding achievement and positive portrayals by African Americans and others in music, film, television and literature.

The NAACP became embroiled in controversy last year when the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch, shortly before the Image Awards, criticized eight television shows as containing negative portrayals of blacks. Some of those shows criticized, including Fox’s “Martin,” were Image Award nominees.

Mfume said that in addition to maintaining a presence in Hollywood, he would take more of a position on some of the criticized television shows, as well as on films that have been knocked by blacks as perpetuating negative images.

Among this year’s Image Award nominees, Trimark’s “Eve’s Bayou” was the most honored film in the motion picture category with five nominations, including outstanding movie, actor and actress. The other best picture nominees were “Amistad,” “Love Jones,” “Rosewood” and “Soul Food.”

TV shows nominated for outstanding comedy series were “Moesha,” “Cosby,” “Living Single,” “The Gregory Hines Show” and “The Steve Harvey Show.” Nominated as outstanding drama series was “413 Hope Street,” “Chicago Hope,” “ER,” “New York Undercover” and “Touched by an Angel.”