Here and now. You like being picture perfect. You should want your banking to be too. Stop into td bank and well help set you up with picture perfect banking. New customers, open a checking and savings account and you can get a polaroid cube for the second year in a row, the Oscar Nominations included no black or brown actors, and once again that has triggered backlash. This time it includes some directors, actors, and activists calling for a boycott of this Years Academy awards ceremony. Eyewitness News Entertainment reporter sandy kenyon has more. A past host of the big oscar show thinks a boycott is a bad idea. Chris rock is the host of the Academy Awards. And so, to boycott him seems just as bad as what everybodys saying. I will not be at the Academy Awards, and i wont be watching. Jada Pinkett Smith took a stand, and so did spike lee, just as he did when the academy gave him an honorary oscar this past november. We need to have some serious discussion about diversity and get some flavor up in this. This year, all of the performers nominated are white. How do you two years in a row just have no one of color . The reverend al sharpton is urging viewers to boycott this years oscar show. Just tune it out. They have excluded us. So, on that night, should we not exclude them from what we watch . Jada Pinkett Smiths husband, will, wasnt nominated for concussion. Nor was idris elba for beasts of no nation, and he had been a favorite before the nominations were announced, just as David Oyelowo was last year, when he was snubbed for playing the reverend Martin Luther king jr. In selma. For that to happen again this year is unforgivable. Sylvester stallone got a nod for creed, but there was no mention of michael b. Jordan, who played the title role. Deep breath, deep breath. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs says shes working hard to bring about greater diversity. What we all need to do now is action throughout the industry, says an expert. The lack of diversity is an industrywide problem. No one disputes it. The academy is just a mirror to that. The trending hashtag oscarsowhite is once again calling attention to the lack of diversity in movies, not only in front of the camera but also behind it and in the executive offices. Joining us today to give us his take on the issue is jeff friday. Hes the founder and president of the american black film festival. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon, mr. Friday. Its a pleasure to be here. And as you pointed out, this is an issue that you recognized two decades ago. Hence, the abff. Yeah, i went to the Sundance Film Festival back in 1997, and i saw a wonderful event. But there might have been five people of color there. And i left there, and i decided that we needed a platform like that. Many of the best stories that get fueled through the hollywood come from independent so, for the past 20 years, our organization, the american black film fest, has been encouraging and providing platforms for support economically and creating relationships for many of the filmmakers that have been working for the past 20 years. In fact, two of our most distinguished alumni are in the oscar conversation now. The gentleman who produced Straight Outta Compton, will packer, started with us 18 years ago. And, also, ryan coogler, who is creed is a hot topic right now because of what happened with stallone and him not acknowledging the director and the producer of the movie. So, we have certainly been i guess a platform for the Diverse Voices that are currently working in the business. And so, as youve watched this unfold the last week or so, what were your thoughts, when you heard the nominations come out again, and once again, some of the actors that were really, their performances really touted beforehand, once nominations came out. Yeah, im frustrated by it because this is the conversation that we have every four or five years. The bottom line is, the system is broken. Hollywood is an 11 billion private party. Its managed like its a party at someones mansion in the hamptons, where you have to be invited, and theres a big gate and a red carpet down the street and a big doorman at the door. But it really is an industry. Its a business. And its americas most prestigious industry, and we treat it like its a party. And thats really whats wrong with it. The membership of the academy is 94 white. What else do you have to say . Youre doing films about current culture. We live in this amazingly diverse country, and the people who determine which films get awards and heres the thing. Winning an oscar is not about just art. Its about how much money you get on your next movie. Its about who makes the next movie. Economy of the business. So, as long as the membership of the Academy Awards stays 94 white and 77 male, were gonna be talking about this forever. This is an old conversation that frustrates me. Obviously, a lot of questions for you. I want to ask you. You say the systems broken. How do you fix that . How do you go about making the academy more accurately represent moviegoers, i guess . And as we said, its not just even to get so that those Academy Members look differently at actors of color. Somehow its almost as if theyre looking at them and seeing right through them. No, i dont think so. I think theyre looking at theyre asked to pick your favorite five actors of the year, right . And we pick friends and neighbors based on taste. The golf course. Its about the golf course. We pick based on taste. If you ask me pick your five colors, youre gonna pick so, i think that you cant expect a very Homogeneous Group of people to maybe Straight Outta Compton didnt resonate with the 94 white. Maybe it was number six or seven, but we only highlight the top five. So, this is really the issue of the composition of the Academy Award membership is out of step with society. So, what can you do . You could do something very radical, because the other thing that most people dont know is youre a member for life. Yes. This is an 88 or 89yearold organization. So, youre a member for life, and theres 6,000 members or so total. So, you have to basically make that membership diverse in order for the tastes of that membership this is a taste. Its really odd what it boils down to. It boils down to what resonates most with i know a bunch of white guys. You know who they think is the most gorgeous woman . White guy i know, my friends, they love jennifer lawrence. So, shes got an edge. Mmhmm. Just philosophically every time shes in a movie, shes got an edge cause my white friends, they think shes the best. Taraji she might not be on that topfive list for them. So, this really is a very simple solution. Weve got to diversify the body. I also think that the black community has a responsibility, too. I think we put too much of a premium on validation from mainstream organizations for our worth. And if im going to be critical a bit, i think weve got to do three things as black artists. Number one, weve got to support each other more. An established black artist has got to grab the hand of a young artist and say, hey, im gonna bring you to the private parties, since im in it now. cause a couple of us are in it, so we got to open the back door and let other folks in it. So, we diversify it that way. I also think weve got to give more respect to organizations like the abff and like the image awards, who do do shows to support the black communities. Talent into the bigger system. Weve got to show up. So, when big, alist stars say, im gonna go to the oscars, but im not gonna go to the we have a show coming up on february 21st called abff honors, which is a celebration of excellence in television and film. Its our very first show, right in beverly hills, at the same venue that they had the golden globes. Well see how many black artists show up for that. You cannot complain about i call this thing the illusion of inclusion. Big black stars are often blinded by the illusion of inclusion. They think because im in the party now, thats all that matters. So, if we support ourselves, we get our butts in the seats of organizations like abff that supports them, i think well be in a more empowered state at the end. Well, let me ask you about some of the claims the call for folks to boycott. Youve got people stepping forward. Jada Pinkett Smith, she has id that shes not going to the oscars. I think a lot of people felt like it was personal from her standpoint. You have spike lee, who has said hes not going. He hasnt called for a boycott but said he and his wife wont be going. Mmhmm. And then you have the rev. Al sharpton asking viewers of color not to watch the broadcast. How effective do you think a boycott is, and is that the right way to go . Whoopi goldberg for one we heard it in the piece earlier she doesnt necessarily think the boycott is the way to go. Yeah, i dont know how effective a boycott would be. I think the boycott will hurt the network thats broadcasting the oscars the most. Mmhmm. I think if you want to boycott it and want to have a longterm effect on this, you have to boycott the films that you dont like. Weve got to force there are six or seven major Hollywood Studios that put out about 400 releases a year. Weve got to boycott the films. Weve got to send a message to the studios that say, if you dont start to make films that reflect this country that we live in, this wonderfully that we live in, were gonna stop going to the movies. Thats the only way to really affect this. Weve got to affect this at the studio level versus focusing all the attention at the Academy Awards. Are we not seeing the films because there are no actors of color in them . Whats the. Theres this feeling or acceptance in hollywood that black films dont play internationally. Black stars dont travel. So, when i make a black movie, im only gonna spend 13 million on it, versus 130 million. So, black films are always kind of put into a box, a small box, and only black people are gonna see it. Also, there are very few black there is no black person at any major studio that has what we call greenlight decisions. Spike lee has talked about that for years. Who makes the final decision . Theres one asian gentleman at warner, i think, that is the have people in positions of power. And thats the real problem. It trickles down to the oscars, yes, but we dont have people in power. And, again, the point i think thats most relevant is this is an 11 billion industry. And thats just the theatrical business. Thats not the streaming and the downloads and the dvd sales. Thats just the movie business. This is not a party. And for a hundred years, its been treated like a private party for very special rich people who like to dress up and put on tuxes. And its just not fair, and it doesnt make Good Business sense. And i think it is important that we make the point that were not just talking about black actors. Were talking about latino actors. Really, were talking about asian actors. I think theyre all underrepresented in the products that hollywood generally puts out. And in many cases in the product the representations are very stereotypical. The range tends to be very yeah. They all are. In fact, no asian, native american, or latino has won a best actor award in the last ten years even worse for the other cultures. We talked about africanamerican a lot, but the other cultures have it even worse, and the movies are full of stereotypes. Yeah. Movies and television are full of stereotypes. Thats not good for our country. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. Its been my pleasure. Hopefully we wont have to talk about this next year. Well, i hope youre right. Yeah, yeah, its good to be here. Still ahead on here and now, beating the odds in bedstuy a program thats according to the department of juvenile justice, youth in bedstuy are among the highest at risk to commit crimes or become victims of crime compared to young people in other new york city neighborhoods. And one of the organizations that is determined to help young men beat those odds, the yes program, is working to turn teens into businessmen. Joining us today is the founder of yes, jason williams, and one of the program participants, malcolm reece. Thank you, both, for being with us this afternoon. Thank you for having us. And, jason, i understand that you founded this Program Based on some of your own experiences as a young man growing up. Absolutely, absolutely. Im originally from los angeles, california singleparent home. And i was definitely exposed to a lot of the things that go on that are currently still going on in the communities. And so, i saw this as an opportunity to reach out, give back to these young men, and try to provide some type of influence and guidance that i knew i was missing. And you felt that bedstuy was the perfect location for this, where you could meet a need. Absolutely. I currently reside in bedstuy, but, again, just looking at the statistics and things that go on in bedstuy and being a resident in new york id rather be and operate the program. And why do you feel like entrepreneurship is sort of a good focus for these youngsters . Well, the undertone is empowerment, is empowerment, definitely empowerment. And in that, being an entrepreneur and being able to set your own rules in a lot of own ways and do things to give back, as well, i feel like its one of the most powerful things that you can do, not only for yourself but also for your community. Mmhmm. And so, just looking at the social and economical issues facing our communities nowadays, entrepreneurship is definitely the way that i want to try to give back and help my community out. Simple. My understanding is that obviously when youre talking to youngsters about entrepreneurship, theres some teaching in between. You got to go from there to here. So, how do you do that . I know that you offer workshops. How does that happen . Workshops, i have a great group of keynote speakers and other entrepreneurs and gentlemen in the community that come out and support and speak to the young men, as well. So, thats one thing. You know, like they say, it takes a village. So, theres literally a village of people within the bedstuy community that have been supportive of our movement and our mission. And in that weve been able to offer all types of tailored curriculums to the participants in the program to help them advance through the program. Now, malcolm, you are one of those participants. Youre currently a freshman, university of albany . Yeah. Is that where you study . What about this Program Attracted you . The fact that it was mainly the only businessrelated program that was at the job fair that we had for our summer youth employment. Also, jason kind of sold us on the idea. He explained his vision with a lot of energy, and that really drew me into it. I wanted to be a part of Something Different than just regular office job. So, i figured that this would be a great opportunity for me. And youre an economics major, right . Yes. And listening to jason and some of the other speakers, did it make it more clear to you what the possibilities are for your life . Yes, it did. Before you have ideas, but you never really act on them or think that they can come true. But jason, giving us his backstory about how he just pulled together the program in a few months, really gave us hope for ideas that we could have, that we could actually achieve different things, rather than being contained to what we think. Mmhmm. Yeah, youre not limited. Yeah. And you said in listening to him, you realized he was listening to you. Yeah, and im listening to him now. Im like, well, okay, so, he was listening. Yeah. That has to make you feel good, though, because that was your intent, that you want these young people to know that they in the streets. Absolutely. I tell them all the time, and i told them throughout the entire Summer Program that you take your circumstances and dont look at them as a negative but look at them as an opportunity to create. So, in the program, were looking around our community for businesses that wed like to see in our communities. And im encouraging these young men to start the process of introducing these different types of businesses to the community. And these are businesses and ideas that theyve come up with themselves so, certainly taking what we have and improving our home base right here in our community. Now, you are in fact working with some city programs as a measure of your success up to this point. I understand that youre gonna get some office space to work out of. Absolutely. Im very excited. Actually today im picking up the key. We have an office space right there on nostrand that theyve allowed me to come into. Us through Bridge Street corporation and my base. They wanted me to do is facilitate 14 workshops for the community. Mmhmm. So, i really appreciate the opportunity, and, like i said, were moving in today. Im gonna ask you, what age range, these young men, what age range are you dealing with . For the young entrepreneur salute program, the age range is 16 to 24. Mmhmm. But through, again, the expansion of the programs and things around the city, were now focusing on just the overall community. We will be introducing young entrepreneur sorority this fall. What was that again . Young entrepreneur sorority. So, thats more for the females, the ladies out there that want to be a part of the program. Everywhere we are now, we have a group of young ladies saying, we want to be a part of this. So, were very excited about doing that, as well. So, its certainly evolving. And you also did the peers workshops that you sort of offer communitywide. Just taking a look at some of the Community Needs going into that was an amazing experience. The peers workshop again, we opened it up to all the young adults in the community, and it was just an opportunity to reach out to them and sort of try to help them refocus their minds coming into 2016. We executed this workshop right after christmas and right before new years. So, that week time frame that we had there, we were coming together every single day for a few hours. I invited a lot of local businesses and support foundations out there for the young adults. And it was just a really powerf