Do Blacks Only Earn Awards for Negative Roles?

So read the headline of a story I saw in the Washington Informer. And on one hand, it is an important question to ask when you look at some (and I underline some three times) of the recent Black actors and actresses who have been awarded an Oscar(r) for their work. Halle Berry's win for Monster's Ball could, I believe, be seen as simply awarding a black person an Oscar because there had been so much made of the fact that no black person had won the Best Actress or Best Actor Oscar since Sidney Poitier and Hattie McDaniel. Denzel Washington's Oscar was regarded as an award not necessarily for Training Day, but for his body of work. That largely leaves Jennifer Hudson, who, while fantastic in Dreamgirls, was largely awarded an Oscar because of her back story (booted from American Idol, told she'd never make it, and persevering).

Which brings us to Mo'Nique. Her portrayal can certainly be construed as being a negative portrayal of blacks, particularly inner city blacks, but the fact remains that her performance is riveting and comes from her gut. Personally, I don't like Mo'Nique, but I absolutely have to take my hat off to her for pulling one of the year's best performances out of her hat.

But looking at the number of roles that blacks have played and the number of movies starring black actors, it is shocking that the list of those who have been awarded (or even nominated) is fairly short. I'm still pretty shocked that none of the actors in The Secret Life of Bees were even mentioned during awards season, particularly Queen Latifah or the criminal absence of Idylwild from the award season.

I do believe that black actors garner far less respect in Hollywood, particularly underrated actors like Angela Bassett, Lawrence Fishburn and Alfre Woodard -- just to name a few. I am certainly not an advocate of nominating an actor just because he or she happens to be black, but it'd be nice to see more color at the Oscars.