Cheers to Lupita Nyong’o
January 27, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Cheers to Lupita Nyong’o, featured in the vitally important movie 12 Years a Slave. In accepting the award for best supporting performance at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards, the actress, who grew up in Kenya and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, thanked Solomon Northup who in 1853 wrote the (true story) of his horrors as a slave for 12 years on which the movie is based.
And, pointedly, she thanked director Steve McQueen “for taking a flashlight and shining it underneath the floorboards of this nation and reminding us what it is we stand on.”
Lupita Nyong’o used the stage provided by her award to both promote the film and to speak an important truth about what is “underneath the floorboards” of this nation. That was a challenge to all to confront the implications of that statement. And Lupita Nyong’o’s comment in her acceptance speech set a standard for others who are given the spotlight and stage to speak to millions.
If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.