Black British Vs African American: The Cynthia Erivo/ Harriet Tubman Debate
When people come for yours, your first instinct is to defend without question, and sometimes without much deeper analysis. So when the debate blew up about Cynthia Eviro accepting the role of Harriet Tubman an historical African American Hero, and how as a Black British actress she and others like her we're taking work away from African American actors, my initial thoughts were, but...African Americans have been portraying all Black people (as diverse as we are in terms of nationality and culture) for years! Hypocritical much?!
In fact my first thoughts were as follows:
It is a fact that African Americans have been ACTING Black people of all nationalities and cultural heritage and have a monopoly when it comes to major film roles. We are warned of the danger of one story/ one narrative by renowned academics and thinkers such as: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It is also a fact that the ancestors of many Black Brits were also enslaved. Maybe the ignorance in this area and what it is to be Black British proves, the time is ripe to increase the diversity of black actors and understanding of the multiple of nationalities and identities that Black encompasses, exploring both our differences and similarities and abilities to effectively preserve a narrative and identity.
It appeared several other Black Brits had this knee-jerk reaction too. While this may be partially true, I started to think about it a lot deeper. Is Hollywood/ the American film industry home territory to African Americans? Why yes it is! Is Black British talent from all walks of life, not only acting, going over to The US to find opportunities? Why yes they are... If I were African American would I be resentful of this fact? Damn straight I would! Which highlights the wider sinister issues which lie just beneath the very surface of this whole situation. Which can be addressed by asking, why Black Brits need to go over to America and other places to find work in the first place? The answer lies in our own film industry, and indeed most industries here in the UK, that are too racist and blinkered to employ Black people, especially in large numbers. The old, " we've already got someone who looks like you on our books" retoric.
The second question which needs to be asked is, why are Black British people being given acting roles and jobs over African Americans, whose own history is closer to the narrative being portrayed in this case? Well apparently it is because Black British actors and workers are viewed by racist Americans as the more “palatable “ Black, when it comes to a choice between Black Brits and African Americans. It is these very concepts and issues that are horrifying. The old divide and concur, rearing its ugly head yet again.
Cynthia Erivo is a Black British actress, singer, and songwriter, who was born on 8 January 1987, to Nigerian parents in Stockwell, South London. As a child, Erivo attended La Retraite R.C Girls School and later decided to pursue her passion for actin. She applied and subsequently trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Erivo has played African American characters in the past, albeit fictional characters. She is known for her performance as Celie in the 2015 Broadway revival of The Color Purple, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical as well as the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. She also performed the role in the 2013 Menier Chocolate Factory production. In addition, Erivo is also known for her performance as Deloris Van Cartier/Sister Mary Clarence in the UK tour of American play, Sister Act. So there is no doubt concerning Erivo's acting capabilities particularly when it comes to American characters.
However, Harriet Tubman was a very real African American heroine, and a powerful figure in the Black History narrative. Harriet Tubman as she became to be known, was born Araminta Ross, c. 1822 and lived until 10 March 1913. She lived to become an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman courageously escaped captivity, and subsequently risked her life several times to make an incredible thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people, family and friends. She used the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. Tubman later assisted abolitionist John Brown in the recruitment of men for his raid on Harpers Ferry. During the Civil War, Tubman served as an armed scout and spy for the United States Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the struggle for women's suffrage, top tailing her immense life long contribution to the fight for equal rights for African Americans and women. With such a tremendous legacy, Tubman is rightly a symbol of great pride for African Americans, marking a part in their history of fight and triumph over oppression.
There are parrellels in the journey of African Americans from Africa, through slavery up until the present for all members of the African diaspora worldwide, whose ancestors have a shared similar history. However there is no disputing the fact that Tubman was African American. Another issue to note here is the problem that most Black people around the world are taught African American history, when it comes to Black History, we are not taught about heros closer to home, who are usually uncovered through idependent research.
Erivo is an extremely competent and accomplished actress, with a list of impressive acting accolades, there is no doubt she is more than capable of playing Harriet Tubman, the question is, should she?
The inspirational and refreshingly outspoken social media influencer, fitness guru, personal trainer and womanist, Kelechi Okafor, known by her social media handle as @kelechnekoff hit the nail on the head yet again, concerning this debate. Upon reading her article in UK news publication, The Independent. I found that her thoughts echoed mine, expanded on the issue of the more palatable Black and explored the moral dilema of should Black Brits be accepting roles depicting real rather than fictional African American characters. You can read her article in the highlighted link above.
I then began to draw parallels between how African Americans are treated compared to Black Brits in The US, and how Caribbean’s are treated compared to Africans here in the UK - one as being seen as the more acceptable version of black. Simularily to how Black Brits are being chosen over African Americans for roles, the African diaspora in the UK is often treated more favorably by institutionally racist establishments, over their Caribbean counterparts, here in the UK. Caribbeans in the UK are often heavily discriminated against with negative and damaging stereotypes and false narratives, despite the fact that Caribbean culture heavily influences mainstream British culture, particularly in London, very much simular to how African American culture heavily influences mainstream American popular culture, from music, and fashion to aesthetic, demeanor and vernacular ( our swag).
Such divisive behaviour of pitting one against the other, and the subsequent cultural appropriation are destructive to the black community, serving to only dismantle and weaken unity in the long term by causing senseless division, suspicion, prejudices, hostile competition and resentment, where unity would encourage working and building together to form our own industries, eliminating the need to go elsewhere.
Okafor @kelechnekoff goes on to rightly recognise in her article, the sacrifices made by African Americans from slavery to segregation, and the civil rights movement in order to pave the way for all Black people today not only in America, but worldwide, (due to the global influence of the US). Again parallels can be found here between the Caribbean and African diaspora. Caribbean families, were some of the first black migrants to arrive in the UK, and as such bore the brunt of early racial hatred, brutality and discrimination, and their fight for equality and fair treatment, helped make it relatively easier for later African migrants to settle here. The parrellels are astonishing and I totally get it now.
While I cant blame Black British actors for ceasing the opportunities offered- I mean, lets face it, who wouldn't? At the same time it is abhorrent that African American’s are being erased from their own stories and history, because they are not seen as worthy enough to portray their own narratives. Condescending at best, and harmfully discriminatory, divisive and distructive at worse. As touched on in the above video featuring the late Tupac Shakur, I feel the solution lies in not blaming each other, and dividing along lines of different cultural alliances, but in working together to fund and create our own opportunities and safe spaces.
