Dear White People Director Justin Simien Gave A Speech About Diversity At the Spirit Awards

"If you don't see youself in culture, please put yourself there, because we need you."

Alanna Bennett

Published: Feb 22, 2015 08:00 pm

This article is over 9 years old and may contain outdated information

Justin Simien won an Independent Spirit Award last night for Best First Screenplay for Dear White People. He used his time onstage to talk about feeling underrepresented and trying to fill that gap with his work as a filmmaker. It’s a short speech, but this is a nice thing to remember and think about on the day of the whitest Oscars in nearly 20 years.

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Not everyone can make their own representation, of course, for a lot of reasons: Life circumstance, not everyone being (or wanting to be) an artistic sort, etc.. But for those of you who are swayed by the creative spirit and the desire to make stories, I highly encourage as many of you as possible to make. And, if possible and desired, to push your way into all these fancy awards show thingies.

(via Huffington Post)
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Author

Alanna Bennett

Alanna is a pop culture writer who works as the Weekend Editor for The Mary Sue, an entertainment writer for Bustle, and a freelancer for everywhere. She has a lot of opinions about Harry Potter and will 100% bully you into watching the shows that she loves. Don't worry, it's a sign of friendship.