5. Hattie struggles throughout the book to make space for herself (and other...

[smkelly]

Hattie struggles throughout the book to make space for herself (and other actors like her) to take on roles that go against the NAACP and Walter White’s vision for Black performers.

Who do you personally think was right? Do you agree with Hattie or with Walter?

[Badhaircutgirl]

I agree with Hattie, for herself. That does not discredit how other people of color felt about her taking the roles she did. At the end of the day, it's what she wanted to do for her life and she was proud of it, as she should be. I think everyone was entitled to their opinion, although Walter White did not have to keep singling her out.

[June]

Walter White was a man who torn down while Hattie was inclusive.

[Bbaker12jo]

I believe everyone has their own perspective on the story. Both were working to make things right. Both took different points of views. I can't really say if either was right or wrong. I can say that they both hurt each other in many ways. They really should have worked together for the common goal instead of putting one another down for what both were trying to achieve.

[Mher1]

I personally think “right” was somewhere in the middle. I agree with Hattie that changes like that are a longer process, as we are still trying to improve on the same issue 80 years later. I do think she could have pushed a little more for something even slightly “better” than a maid or slave, but it also seemed like whenever she did she lost jobs. I can understand the need to pay bills.

I do think Walter White was trying to push for too much change too fast, and if he had collaborated more with the people actually taking the roles, instead of degrading them, changes may have happened a little faster.

[SudgiePot]

The colorism as described by Marcus Garvey, I think, still pervaded the NAACP under Walter White. Mr White really wanted things to change, that’s true, but I don’t think denigrating Ms McDaniel accomplished anything. I don’t know if White’s tactics were more effective than other choices he could have made. I, underneath, don’t think anything White did could have changed Hollywood any faster. So, him campaigning against these types of roles really was him taking jobs from people with very few alternatives. Does that mean he shouldn’t have criticized the Mammy role? I don’t think so. Because he was right in that they were too limited and limiting. The fact that that criticism was a moral injury to Hattie McDaniel is also real, and hurt her with some of her peers as well.