Groups Join to Protest Exclusion

Angered and frustrated by a lack of ethnic diversity on network television’s fall prime-time lineup, an interracial cross-section of entertainment industry organizations and advocacy groups is banding together to protest the near-exclusion of minorities on new dramas and comedies.

Heading up the still-unnamed coalition is the NAACP and its Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch; the Brotherhood Crusade; Nosotros, an advocacy group for Latinos in the entertainment industry; the Asian American theater group East West Players; Native Americans in Film; and several other groups, including We Won’t Be Ignored, a newly formed organization of “frustrated performers of color.”

Billie Green, president of the Beverly Hills/Hollywood chapter of the NAACP, said the joining together of the various groups is prompted by the almost total absence of blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans and other minority groups in new shows premiering this fall on the four major broadcast networks--CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume was not available for comment at press time.

“We are banding together as people of color to say we will not stand silent while this kind of exclusion is going on,” Green said. “We’re making a broad statement that we’re coming together, and that this practice must stop.”

The coalition will announce a plan of action at a press conference in July to address the issue. One proposed course of action is to appeal to viewers to write to the networks complaining about the lack of diversity on the new shows. Also under consideration is a boycott of advertisers who place commercials on the shows.

The Times reported last month that of the 26 new comedies and dramas premiering this fall on the major networks, not one features a minority in a leading role. There are very few blacks in secondary or supporting roles, and Asian Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and other ethnic groups are virtually invisible.

The lack of racial diversity has put a cloud over the new season, with producers and performers of every race expressing bewilderment and outrage at the low visibility of minorities. The presence of a nearly-white landscape also runs counter to repeated promises by network executives during the last several years to include more minorities in front of the camera.

“We don’t want to blame or point fingers, but we want to make it clear that we know what the networks are doing,” said Anne-Marie Johnson, a veteran African American actress who is one of the organizers of We Won’t Be Ignored.

“This is not a mistake,” said Johnson, referring to the television landscape. “It’s not deliberate, but at the networks this kind of thing is so subliminal and unconscious it’s almost like breathing. This has filled a lot of us with frustration, despair and fear. We just can’t seem to get a foot in the door. Everyone’s having a hell of a time.

“This is the worst pilot season I’ve experienced in my 14 years of acting,” added Johnson, who was a regular on “In the Heat of the Night” and “In Living Color,” and has appeared in numerous television shows and films. “What is the subliminal message being sent out when you don’t see people of color on these series?”

Johnson said she was working on compiling a mailing list of at least 500 well-known minority performers to enlist their assistance at next month’s press conference.

“We want them to inform viewers to watch this season with a very critical eye, and if the viewers don’t like what they see, to write letters,” Johnson said.

Despite the determination of the new coalition, it is aware that previous attempts and protests by leaders and watchdog groups to increase diversity have largely been met with indifference or inaction.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1994 attacked the television industry, threatening to punish the networks with viewer boycotts if they did not immediately initiate plans to improve the visibility of minorities on shows. However, the threats were never followed through, and Jackson eventually moved on to other issues.

In April of 1995, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and other prominent Latino groups staged a nationwide march at local ABC stations to protest what they called failed promises by the network to include more Latinos in front of and behind the camera. Group leaders also asked viewers not to watch ABC on May 5, Cinco de Mayo, of that year. Neither protests appeared to have a significant effect.

Nevertheless Green believes the current campaign will have more of an impact.