MINORITIES IN THE MILITARY
by Leo E. Laurence; Member, San Diego "Pro" chapter; Member, National Committee on Diversity
When Clint Eastwood produced two films about the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima, a clash was set up with Spike Lee, the Afican-American filmaker. Lee was at the Cannes Film Festival promoting his film "Miracle of St. Anne," about an all-black U.S. Army division that fought in Italy during WWII.
Lee contrasted his film with two by Eastwood (Flags Over Iwo Jima and Letters from Iwo Jima), explaining that neither had any African-American soldiers in them.
"Clint Eastwood made two films that ran for more than four hours total, and there was not one negro actor on the screen," Lee said at Cannes; and reported in a column by Ruben Navarrette, Jr. of the San Diego Union Tribune, a daily that makes a determined and outstanding effort to put diversity into its news coverage and staffing.
"In (Eastwood's) version of Iwo Jima, negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version," Lee added, albiet focused on Italy and not the island in the Pacific.
Eastwood fired back claimingng there was only a small number of black broops on Iwo Jima as part of a munitions company. "But, they didn't raise the flag," Eastwood said.
"Has (Lee) ever studied history," Eastwood fired back when the issue got personal.
Lee insisted that he, indeed, knew history, including "the history of Hollywood and its omission of the one million African-American men and women who contributed to World War II," As he phrased it, "Not everyone is John Wayne," baby.
That's also the same message that Latino veterans were telling Ken Burns last year when he put together for PBS a 14-hour documentary on that horrible war. While Burns included Anfrican-Americans in his film, initially he left out any mention of the more than a half-million Latinios who also contributed to that war effort.
In reaction to the many Latino protests, Burns sprinkled 28 minutes of new interviews and photographs of two Latinos and one Native-American into his epic PBS movie.
People are not inclined to forgive and forget such historical ommissions, especially when they involve our military personnel.
Navarrette said "Eastwood was wrong to try to minimize the role (that) Anfrican-American soldiers played in the battle of Iwo Jima, with dismissive comments about how there was only a small number of black troops in a munitions company."
Histroians say that between 700 and 900 African-American soldiers (and possibly Marines) who participated in the month-long assault on Iwo Jima where thousands of our military died.
"While barred from combat duty, they risked their lives piloting amphibious craft vehicles ashore, unloading and transporting ammunition to the front lines, and burying the dead - all the while braving enemy fire," Navarrette wrote.
"That's a compelling story. And, as a gifted storyteller, Cline Estwood ought to be sorry he missed it," the columnist wrote.
Reporters and editors can learned a lesson from this. When covering a story, any story; if minorities, Gays or the disabled are involved, make sure your coverage includes them.
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