Dropping the Ball in a Discussion of Race

It's a little bit funny, odd and sad that the NY Times, which set out to cover a story that by all means should be discussed, botched the delivery of the story and it's aftermath.

As you may/may not know, the Times ran a story last Friday that I thought was very thought provoking and somewhat bold. In fact the sentence at the conclusion of the first paragraph, "In view of recent history the whiteness of the 2011 Academy Awards is a little blinding" just about caused me to a Danny Thomas spit take. (a Golden Girls reference that I'm sure will be lost on most)

The story  as you may have surmised by now was about the lack of "color" in recent Academy Awards nominees and winners. The piece discussed previous winners in the form of the "firsts" which include Hattie McDaniel who was the first black American to win an Oscar and Sidney Poitier and Halle Berry who were the first to win Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars. The piece also made mention of other prominent African-American actors and actresses who have won Oscars in the past including two-time award winner Denzel Washington, Forrest Whitaker, Morgan Freeman and Actresses Jennifer Hudson and Mo’Nique. Now if you're like me, you're probably waiting for one name to appear, Whoppi Goldberg, who won Oscar gold for her iconic role as Oda Mae Brown in 'Ghost.' Sadly and to my surprise, the article never mentioned her.

During yesterday's airing of 'The View' Whoppi said she felt, "dismissed and erased" by the omission in the article which she also called "sloppy journalism."

According to The Huffington Post, in its response to Whoppi's comments, a Times spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly, "the error lies with those who are reading the story incorrectly. The point of the piece was not to name every black actor or actress who has been awarded an Oscar." (To read more about the back and forth between Whoopi and the Times click here)

While it's true the Times did not name every black actor or actress who ever won an Oscar, my question is why not? Especially when sadly that list is comprised of 3 other individuals, Whoopi, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. 

From my point of view, the Times dropped the ball from the start by leaving out these 3 names, and have only dug themselves into a deeper hole that unfortunately has taken away from the true meaning of the story.   

What do you think?