Sistahs Are Doin' It

There's a slew of entertainment awards, but I only pay attention to the top three: The Oscars for movies, the Emmys for television, and the Golden Globes for the best of both.

Emmy awards nominations were announced last week. Unfortunately, I recognized no male names on the list for performances in front of the camera. I did, however, see three female names:

Chandra Wilson for supporting actress in Grey's Anatomy
Vanessa Williams for supporting actress in Ugly Betty (love that name)

Queen Latifah for lead actress in Life Support, the only leading performance by an African-American that received a nomination.

It's got to be rough being an actress, and, as usual when you're black it's probably ten times as difficult. I don't believe there is exactly a multitude of roles available for black women, so this creates a situation where the same women are undoubtedly scrambling for the same parts. The ironic thing about these three nominations is that none of these women are your typical young, beautiful, shapely female people tend to associate with acting.

When Chandra Wilson won an award (maybe it was an Emmy, maybe a Golden Globe; I can't remember) she alluded to her diminutive stature (around 5' or shorter) and the fact that she is not model thin. Yet she managed to land a role on a hit show. Her heartfelt speech was inspiring.

Queen Latifah is what's often referred to as "a big girl." Because Hollywood usually feels that everyone is thin, most of Latifah's parts provide able support for other leads (also known as character parts). I found it refreshing to see her get to shine in a lead role.

Vanessa Williams is in her 40s. Hell, even Meryl Streep started being scarce when she hit this age, so what's a black actress to do? When's the last time Angela Bassett made a movie? It's been, what, two years since that flick about the spelling bee? (One notable exception to the 40 jinx: Alfre Woodard. In her 50s, she is one of the hardest-working women in show business, popping up everywhere).

You go, sistahs! And take heart if your name isn't called at the ceremony. It may sound trite, but in a TV world where only five performances in a year can be singled out as the best, sometimes it really is great just to be nominated.