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To: Motion Picture Industry

Black Movie Month

African Americans have a voracious appetite for entertainment and $6.3 billion in buying power, according to a recent Black Entertainment (BET) Networks report. The study states that 81% of the films seen by African Americans do not prominently feature an African American cast, storyline or lead Black star.

While African Americans make up 12% of the total movie going audience and represent a total of 195 million trips to movie theaters annually, of the 402 releases in 2011 only four were made by or feature a person of African descent in a leading role: "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family" (Lionsgate), "Big Mamas: Like Father, Like Son" (20th Century Fox), "Jumping The Broom" and "Columbiana" (TriStar Pictures).

African American moviegoers seek content that is reflective of the diversity of Black life and not limited to one type of story. African Americans are not monolithic and have an appetite for films that range from Blockbuster mainstream actions films to African American romantic comedies.

Given the above, we the undersigned ask that the supply of Black films with diverse stories meet the demand-- $513 million spent annually by African Americans on movies.

Why is this important?

To rally global audiences around Black Cinema to demonstrate the economic viability of films made for, by and starring persons of African descent. 81% of the theater going audience is Black, and less than 0.8% of films made in 2011 featured an African American cast, storyline or lead Black star.

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Updates

2021-06-02 19:16:37 -0400

500 signatures reached