Black Love Matters in Film Too
The fear that a love story featuring two Black actors is not engaging, believable or desirable is very real, and one that still defines the mindset of many studio executives, casting agents and producers.
On the recent cable broadcast of Book Of Negroes when Aminata Diallo says to her former slave owner, "I love that slave man... freely," she was not only claiming her love for her African husband, she was committing an act of resistance. Manifesting their love was a radical expression of freedom for slaves that even chains couldn't suppress. That kind of freedom was a threat to the entire institution of slavery and, seemingly, is one that still leaves Hollywood green-lighters mad shook.
