Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and producer Dan Lin launched the Evolve Entertainment Fund on Monday, a private-public partnership to boost diversity within the entertainment industry.
The effort aims to create “new opportunities for communities that have been historically excluded from the entertainment industry,” the Hollywood Reporter notes. It will begin with 150 paid summer internships, growing to 500 by 2020, and will also provide grants to non-profits that help people from minority communities work in the industry.
“When ‘Oscars So White’ and ‘Time’s Up’ put a spotlight on inequality in Hollywood, they captured the frustrations of people shut out of opportunity in what the world knows as L.A.’s signature industry,” Garcetti said in a statement Monday.
The “#OscarsSoWhite” movement began in 2016 and spread rapidly on social media, in a year when there were no black actors nominated for acting awards. The all-white face of the Oscars contrasted sharply with left-wing Hollywood’s support for causes like the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
“Time’s Up” is a new campaign for gender equality in Hollywood. It started in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal last year, which shed a light on sexual harassment and exploitation in the entertainment industry.
Garrett added: “We created the Evolve Entertainment Fund to give people in underserved communities a new opportunity to chase their dreams in Hollywood — whether they want to be the next award-winning director or screenwriter, or are looking to secure a future in below-the-line jobs that are the bedrock of this city’s middle class.”
DuVernay added: “As we radically reimagine Hollywood, it is critically important that young people are included in our vision.
“Real change happens when we take tangible action — and that means giving young women and people of color opportunities in the industry early on, so they have the chance to shape its future.”
“After 20 years in the business, it’s time for me to give back,” Lin said, according to Variety. “A more diverse mix of people and stories is essential for the future of our industry.
Garcetti is considered the “least coy” of the Democrats who are considering running for president in 2020.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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