The racial wage gap is real – The Mirror

Walking into UCLA's Royce Hall and looking around at his colleagues, it became apparent to technical theater professional and now professor Ron Greene that he was one of only two black people in attendance.

He tried not to let it stop him. It was more important for him to concentrate on his work. Although he tried to concentrate, he knew his white colleagues had better opportunities than him, including higher salaries.

With voices silenced in writing rooms and a lack of representation in media dating back to a century of racism, black actors have been fighting against pay inequality for as long as the film industry has existed.

Today, people of color in the theater and film industry, even big-name actors like Viola Davis, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson, are paid only a third of what white actors and technicians .

We never hear about big-name white actors leaving their roles because of their pay. We only hear about actors of color turning down roles or leaving the film industry altogether because it's not enough to pay the bills.

This is not due to lack of job opportunities. Hundreds of television shows and movies are produced every day. This is simply because white actors are paid more and have more opportunities.

The film industry is notorious for paying people of color less than their white counterparts. Inequalities resulting from racism are deeply rooted in the entertainment industry.

In the early to mid-1900s, black actors were excluded from roles that often portrayed them in racist and stereotypical ways. But the abolition of segregation in the 1960s opened new possibilities for black actors. As the 1900s moved into the new millennium, more and more black actors and cultures were inserted into mainstream cinema.

But Hollywood still has a long way to go. Black-led films and television shows are continually underfunded, and for the majority of actors, that's where the racial disparity begins: on set. Underfunded projects lead black actors to failure, and in an industry where white people dominate, one shot at success might be your only chance.

In 2018, Chadwick Boseman starred in Marvels Black Panther. He received $2 million for his starring role. Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans earned over $20 million for their roles.

Hollywood directors are notorious for whitewashing films and television. An actor can have the same experience, talent, and training, but because they are white, they will get the role of an actor of color. Directors know that historically, white leads respond better to audiences. According to the 2020 Hollywood Diversity Report, three out of ten leading actors are actors of color.

Xavier Martin-Porter is an aspiring actor and performing arts student. While participating in the school's theater productions, he also performs at Act-1 Theater Company and is a Toality Choir program scholar. He explains that it's upsetting to see white actors getting roles that black actors never had the chance for.

This can be very disappointing as an African-American actor who loves being a part of theater and film, he said. It's very disheartening to see roles often given to white actors simply because they are white.

Child actor Dilan Patton realized that he would have to work very hard to succeed in this industry. He is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that he has a chance to become a successful actor.

If working more leads to some degree of equity, it's worth it, Patton said.

The history of racial wage inequality dates back to the 19th century, near the end of emancipation. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the wealth gap between white and black Americans was 23 to one in the late 1870s.

Since then, the racial wealth gap has narrowed to about six to one. Although the racial wage gap has narrowed significantly over the past hundred years, it remains significant.

Greene, who has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, believes the wage gap and resulting racial disparity are decreasing due to the increase in the number of workers.

The wage gap has improved, he said. Mainly due to the fact that there are more people of color working in the industry and helping each other achieve their goals.

As time goes on, it becomes essential that actors of color are rewarded for their hard work.

In 2016, a Variety The report showed the average pay rate for lead actors on popular television shows at the time and showed that white actors earned 62.5% more than black actors.

Now, emerging black actors are struggling to make themselves known. It's hard enough to be cast as an actor, but it's even harder to be cast as a person of color and have a stable enough salary to stay in the business.

I think it's extremely unfair that white actors are paid more than their counterparts, Martin-Porter said. We are just as talented and deserve to be paid exactly the same.

No matter how many awards or accolades a black actor receives, it's not enough to compensate for pay inequality.

Black actors are often excluded from the privilege of being offered leading roles. Instead, they are often portrayed as the stereotypical black best friend or angry black woman.

White domination of the film industry goes beyond the performance aspect of film. Screenwriters and other film technicians of color are also hired and paid less. In 2022 alone, 22.6% of screenwriters were men and women of color. The remaining 77.4% were white.

Racial disparity in the writers' room is the beginning of racial disparity on screen. The more white writers dominate the writers' room, the more our

In a 2019 Color of Change Hollywood report, more than 90% of showrunners are white, two-thirds of shows had no black writers, and 17% of shows had only one black writer.

Greene says people of color are at a disadvantage in the film industry because they don't have the same connections as their white counterparts.

White actors and technicians tend to find more jobs because they may have relatives who help them get entry-level jobs that later become full-time jobs, he said.

Racial disparity in the entertainment industry will not stop the ongoing change. If anything, it encourages black actors to challenge the issue. The more the racial wage gap is discussed in mainstream media, the more attention the issue receives and the smaller the wage gap becomes.

Djeada Hall, co-president of the Black Student Union Club, who hopes to one day make it in the film industry, believes that regardless of the treatment she receives because of her race, she will not stop working hard for what she likes.

“It makes me want to work harder as an actor because I'm not going to stop doing what I love, even if people underappreciate me because of the color of my skin,” she said. declared.

The abridged version of this article appeared in the Fall 2023 print edition. This is an uncut version.