Lack of TV Diversity

The Hollywood entertainment industry’s best-kept secret and ultimate taboo topic has finally made its way out of the closet. According to “As Minorities’ TV Presence Dims, Gay Roles Proliferate” (July 21), regarding television’s diversity dilemma, a disproportionate number of positions in the entertainment industry are held by gays and Jews. One would think that since both groups have suffered under the hands of prejudice, they would be more sensitive to minority issues and inclusive in their representation on the screen. Apparently, this is not the case. Shame on them.

LOUISA B. CAUCIA

Montrose

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I applaud Michael Ramirez’s July 22 cartoon, featuring Emmy holding “Television White-Out--New Season” in her arms. When I founded the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (the Emmy awards) in 1946, my vision was that this new medium would exist for the people, not for the corporations. I believed that the airwaves belonged to everyone, that television was a democratic medium whose workers and programs would reflect the interests of all the people and would enhance our country’s striving for equity.

I am disheartened and angry that people of color are being systemically erased both in front of and behind the camera. I applaud the NAACP and its collaborating organizations for their critique. Emmy needs to be a symbol of equality, not of discrimination.

SYD CASSYD, Founder

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles