February 2002 Give The Man the Statue Now!

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by Shelby J. Jones, Editor Give The Man the Statue Now! So what do you think is on Denzel’s mind today? After grabbing the NAACP Best Actor Award for his performance in Training Day, he must be anticipating the night of the Academy Awards when the presenter will grab the envelope, stare into space and announce these words, “And the winner for Best Actor in a motion picture goes to (Fill In The Blank). My inner voice is telling me that all roads lead to Russell Crowe being filled in that blank. Nothing against the Russ, but hopefully, this is not his year. With less than a month to go before the Oscars, it appears that Denzel is building a little steam and just might walk away with a prize that has escaped the grasp of black men since Sidney Poitier walked away with the award some 40 years ago. Damn. 40 years. In 40 years, James Earl Jones, Lou Gossett, Ossie Davis, Denzel, Morgan Freeman, Billy Dee and a host of other men have delivered top-caliber performances in lead roles, but no prize…what is this, Olympic figure skating? The judging fiasco uncovered during the Olympics further highlights the inherent problems when humans are allowed to judge. In this situation, it’s even more flighty because the judges actually have time to mull their choices. Just think of the outstanding performances delivered by Al Pacino for which he received no Oscar. After years of quality work, the Academy voters finally awarded him an Oscar for Scent of A Woman which undoubtedly was not his best work. I simply hope the academy doesn’t wait too long and then feels obligated to give Denzel an award for some future performance that doesn’t measure up to his outstanding work in Training Day, Malcolm X, Cry Freedom or Hurricane. Just get it over with now and give the man the damn award. In the word’s of Winston Churchill, “We cannot guarantee success, we can only deserve it.” Certainly, Denzel Washington deserves it and Julia Roberts said so!