Black and White

It’s obvious that the people who run Hollywood are in denial (“The Invisible Man, Alive and Well,” by Howard Rosenberg, July 25).

There are over 200 black writers in the Writers Guild who are, for the most part, unemployed. Why? Because we aren’t allowed to work on shows that primarily feature white actors because we “wouldn’t fit in” (the writing room) or we “don’t have anything to offer” because, naturally, we all come from low-income neighborhoods and are, of course, uneducated. On the contrary, however, white writers are allowed to “slum” on black shows until a white show more worthy of them comes along.

The inclusion of blacks in TV programming has done more to increase ratings than any other group. The average white person loves looking at us on TV, whether they like us in real life or not. What the average white person who doesn’t know any blacks (or fears that one of their children may marry one) does not want to see is an overabundance of shows with blacks and whites intermingling. This scares the hell out of them.

Shows like “Cosby,” “Good Times,” “Sanford & Son,” etc. are fine because, even though the blacks may be affluent, we are still with our own kind, not trying to mingle with them. When the networks try to “integrate” shows by adding a (minor) black character here and there, they are, in essence, decreasing the chances of that show getting in the Top 10 because that is exactly the type of show whites don’t want to see. And most blacks aren’t too thrilled with it either, though not for the same reasons: We are simply tired of the black characters being relegated to the background, which is where we always wind up in an integrated cast.

And if that minor black character is the sole black character on the show, we know that if he/she has a romantic interest at all, it won’t be the type of mate that most of us have: one who looks like us.

HARRIET A. DICKEY

Los Angeles