BY KAIA NIAMBI SHIVERS

Just recently, esteemed actor Danny Glover was arrested in Maryland along with 11 others who were protesting the questionable treatment of blue-collar workers employed by the food management plantation … oops, I mean corporation, Sodexo.

Before the Sodexo protest, Glover sent out a personal statement to attendees of the last Academy Awards asking them not to wear Hugo Boss fashion because the company was shutting down its Ohio facility and preparing to relocate the factory overseas.

And earlier than both of these socio-political stances, he has garnered a lengthy, unapologetic history of activism.

One of his long-term fights has been for the development and restoration of the greatness of Haiti. Way before the Hollywood “elite” engaged in the relief-aid porn for the country they have already forgotten, Glover has been speaking for Haiti. So much so that he has been attempting to get the proper funding to do an epic film about Toussaint L’Ouverture, the brilliant strategist that led the Haitian Revolution.

In black Hollywood, Glover is seen as a renaissance man and, to some, a fool. However, several decades ago, he would have been the standard among many entertainers and notables who used their star power to fight “the power.”

Josephine Baker, Ruby Dee, Sammy Davis Jr., Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Eartha Kitt. These are just some of the celebrities who walked, worked, risked their careers and lives, and put their money to good use. To advance the whole community, they were willing to sacrifice.

Nowadays, I hear crickets chirping loudly on the other side of the Hollywood sign. They are quiet, very quiet. You see, agitation and civil disobedience ain’t vogue. Plus over the hill, I smell the fear of many who are afraid to use backbone because they do not want to lose their livelihood, not understanding that their souls get lost in the process.

This is unfortunate because black Hollywood’s missing voice perpetuates an exploitative relationship with an industry where African Americans remain largely powerless in a lucrative system built by their black ancestors. For almost 100 years, minstrelsy and black face were the most popular forms of pop culture.

Some years back, I remember conversing with several established actors who wished that black Hollywood could use their power to be in the room or golf course where the real power-decisions are brokered, putting money in the hands of the deserving.

Although stars such as Glover are anomalies in the industry, his push for human progress shines brighter than his acting career and any prestigious award.

Kaia Niambi Shivers is a native Angeleno, cultural-political critic and former L.A. journalist who is  finishing her Ph.D. in Journalism and Media Studies.