Someone who parades around campus wearing a homemade shirt saying Halle Berry Sucks the day after Berry makes history obviously isn’t too fond of the actress. But my question to columnist J. Danielle Daniels is: Why hate? Yes, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out three Oscars to African Americans in one night. In fact, all deserved their little golden statues. Some people seem to doubt this.Okay, so Berry isn’t the best actress in the world. I admit I never thought she was a real actress until I saw her award-winning “Monster’s Ball”performance.I didn’t see any performance this year by an actress that was more convincing than her portrayal of a struggling single mother.Director Marc Forster says she was last on his list of actresses to be in the movie. But when Berry came to audition, she didn’t whine or flash her breasts. She worked her butt off and gave the best screen test of the actresses that showed up. It really doesn’t matter if people weren’t impressed with her performances in “Swordfish” or “X-Men.” What matters was the performance for which she won the highest honor an actor can win. Berry proved to everyone that she was not just another pretty face but a serious actress when given the right part. We can’t go back in time to reward Angela Bassett for “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” or Cicely Tyson for “Sounder” or the entire cast of “The Color Purple” with awards. But we can go forward by being happy for Halle and Denzel.I am proud of the Academy for its selections and hope to see more African-Americans on film and on stage. Maybe even a reunion of the cast of “The Color Purple,” just for Daniels.Well, I’m done here. I have to put the finishing touches on my Halle Berry Rules T-shirt.
Darrell Britt-Gibson, 16, is a high school junior from Silver Spring, Md. He can be reached at woolsaucemcgee@aol.com.