The Academy launches conversation series on inclusion, equity with Whoopi Goldberg, Lulu Wang participating

Lee Daniels, Lulu Wang and Taraji P Henson are among the talent participating in a series of virtual panels about inclusion and equity in Hollywood hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The organisation that puts on the Oscars said on Thursday, 20 August, that the panels rolling out through September and October will be available to the public.

Topics will include navigating Hollywood as a Black gay man, with Daniels and Moonlight screenwriter Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Latino erasure in Hollywood, with Marvel executive Victoria Alonso, documentaries, colour-conscious casting and gender parity. There will also be a town hall focused on the organisation’s Black membership.

Entitled Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us, the series is part of the film academy’s push to further equity and inclusion in its ranks and in the entertainment industry.

“These conversations may be uncomfortable for some, but they are necessary to broaden the stories that are getting told and increase opportunities for those who have been excluded,” said Lorenza Muñoz, EVP, Member Relations and Awards, in a written statement.

The series launched on 20 August with a conversation between Whoopi Goldberg and civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson about the power of narrative. It’s currently available on YouTube.

Check it out here

“As things diversify, things change. The thinking's going to change, the conversation's going to change, the storytelling’s going to change. It's going to be more authentic and honest and realistic and informed." -Bryan Stevenson

See the full discussion: https://t.co/9ogvh1Wedd pic.twitter.com/aPAhBAM71k

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) August 20, 2020

(With inputs from The Associated Press)