Thursday, August 31, 2017

Who is Hattie McDaniel, and why should we care? The case against the Orpheum Theatre’s decision to remove “Gone with the Wind” from its Summer Film Series




Memphis’ Orpheum Theatre has announced its decision to pull the 1939 film, “Gone with the Wind,” from its summer film series.

I will not hide my disappointment at hearing this news. My disappointment centers around the fact that one of GWTW’s stars, Hattie McDaniel, was the very first African American to win an Academy Award, for her role as Mammy, a slave at Tara, the film’s fictional plantation. From my perspective, the Orpheum’s decision to pull GWTW has resulted in the loss of a significant piece of history – the history of Hattie McDaniel. And I am stunned that others have not voiced the same concern.

Through our modern lenses, some may choose to disparage this Civil War film. Some may choose to criticize McDaniel’s role as a slave in the film; it is claimed that she was criticized by the NAACP for accepting roles as maids and servants and perpetuating those stereotypes of African American persons.

But regardless of how we view it today, Hattie McDaniel made history.

McDaniel made history when a segregated Academy chose to honor her for her work. Consider that, among the other contenders for the Supporting Actress Oscar that year included McDaniel’s GWTW co-star, Olivia de Havilland. Imagine how she (and the rest of the contenders!) must have felt, losing to McDaniel – in 1940.

McDaniel made history when she accepted the award in a segregated Ambassador Hotel. The film’s producer, David Selznick, apparently had to secure permission for her even to enter the hotel to accept the award (She had previously been barred from GWTW’s Atlanta premiere.). In her acceptance speech, McDaniel, the daughter of two slaves, said, "I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry."

McDaniel made history, even before her Oscar win, when she became the first African American woman to sing on the radio in the United States. And after her Oscar win, she went on to make more history, purchasing a home in the exclusive West Adams Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, and in the process, fighting restrictive racial covenants which were designed to prevent African Americans from owning homes there.

Clearly, with our new, politically correct 20/20 vision in 2017, the Orpheum has decided not only that McDaniel isn’t a credit to her race, but also that the film – as art – has nothing to offer any of us. Too smart for our own good, we’ve thrown the proverbial baby out with the bath water. And instead of celebrating the extraordinary milestone of McDaniel’s win, we’ve pushed her out of sight and mind, her name never to be spoken by future generations who cannot fathom what she accomplished in her time. We choose to overlook just how incredible her performance must have been for a segregated Academy to award her an Oscar in 1940.

Another 24 years would pass before the next African American – Sidney Poitier – would win an Oscar for his role in “Lilies of the Field.”

I am ashamed that the Orpheum has chosen to close that chapter of history here in Memphis – rather than dedicating all future showings to McDaniel and taking that opportunity to share her history. I am ashamed that, rather than celebrating the fact that she pushed against restrictive racial covenants and helped to desegregate an exclusive Los Angeles neighborhood, we follow those who would find her an embarrassment, and push her aside.

Our shared history together – black and white – on North American soil is unpleasant and complicated. But it is just that: our shared history. And until we work to come to terms with it – in all of its ugliness – we will continue to struggle.

Thank you, Hattie McDaniel, for your contributions to our history. I, for one, truly appreciate you.