They’re Not Bit Players

I look forward to reading Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s book “America Behind the Color Line: Dialogues With African Americans,” but I was disappointed by the excerpt (“Inside Black Hollywood,” Jan. 4). Contrary to Gates’ assertion, Hollywood is long on history, and for many important players in Hollywood, Harvard is not “a million miles away.”

The essence of the excerpt seemed to be who holds power in Hollywood, and that as of 2004 blacks still lack power. But many of those who do have it were educated at places such as Harvard, Boston University, Emerson College and other East Coast universities. For instance, director Reginald Hudlin, whom Gates’ interviewed, attended Harvard. And in terms of Hollywood’s black history, it can be traced back to at least Hattie McDaniel, the first black actor to win an Oscar (for 1939’s “Gone With the Wind”). Hopefully Gates’ book will be more illuminating.

Philip S. Hart

Los Feliz