I think that in our society today it is easy to believe that racism and gender equality in America has died out because of the monumental progress that has been made since slavery. Although it is true that America has made a great amount of progress concerning equality among all genders and skin color in the last 200 years, the issue is still present. I think that these issues have taken a back seat lately and have been ignored by many. This issue is still extremely prevalent and needs to be dealt with. It is already hard enough for African-American women to deal with sexual prejudices let alone the issues that comes with being black in the entertainment business. Before reading these articles and listening to Dr. Palmer speak about her experience in the acting business, I really had no idea of how difficult it was to be successful in the industry as an African-American woman. I don't think that this industry should be able to be racist in casting roles because of an image that they have of what skin color or gender the character should be. The best actor should get the part no matter what skin color or gender they are, blind-casting is the right way to approach casting roles.

It was clear from the articles that we read how much of a role the color of your skin or what gender you are affects your chances of success in Hollywood. I think that the first step in eradicating this issue is exactly what many of these famous actresses are doing, which is coming out with their stories and experiences in the industries. "The film industry's racial bias often means that it takes black actresses a longer time to achieve the same milestones as their white counterparts, even when they have the same or more experience." (Nicole Perkins, pg. 4) It is not okay for directors and producers to create an image of what the actor should look like before listening to people tryout for the role. By making parameters of what the actor should look like, the chances for all the other people who don't fall under the certain categories don't even have a chance. The problem in the entertainment industry is that the majority of directors and producers make parameters for roles that simply don't include African-American women. This gives African-American women almost no chance to become successful in the industry. African American actresses should not have to have the same mindset as the Academy Award Winning actress Taraji P. Henson does. "I'm not going to let it make me bitter. I'm not going to let it dictate who I am in this industry. I'm just going to buckle down, and keep fighting the good fight and... keep trying to prove myself." (pg. 6) There should not still be a fight that these women have to deal with every day in their profession.

I thought that it was great to hear from Dr. Palmer talk about her own personal experience with these issues in the acting industry. One of my favorite points made by Dr. Palmer about the issue was when she said, "America is “pigeon held” in how they think that they need to cast films with certain races and genders, when in reality they can approach the process with “blind casting” and choosing the actor by who best resonates with the audience." The entertainment business should not be different from any other industry in allowing racism and sexism to be okay. I also thought that it was very interesting when she showed the video of the actress coming out in saying how the extreme difficulty in becoming successful in the industry causes actresses to root against each other. It was clear to me after her speech how hard it is for these women to find work in this industry. I think that in order for this to change the awareness of it needs to increase, and African American women can't be the only people doing something about it. The media also needs to change how they make broad assumptions about genders and race. The media has a tremendous affect on how society percieves certain types of people. If the media starts to treat women and African-Americans as equals than it will spread like wild-fire.

My experience with these issues has been minimal to none. I have not been involved in the acting industry at all, and have no ties to any african-american women in the industry. Prior to this I really had no idea how big the struggle is for African-American actresses is. It made so much sense to me how prevalent these issues are when I thought back to all of the movies or shows I had seen, and how stereotypical the casting roles were. The industry truly has to adapt blind casting and give people of all genders and color equal opportunities if change is going to happen.