Civil rights legend John Lewis blasted Hollywood for failing to nominate black actors or directors for the 2016 Academy Awards, saying, "there may be a deliberate effort to overlook the roles played by outstanding people of color."
"I think something is going on there," the veteran Georgia congressman said after Oscar nominations snubbed African-Americans for the second consecutive year. "It seems that Hollywood has this image of being very progressive, very liberal. Many of the people that make up the Hollywood community had supported the civil rights movement.
"People came and marched on Washington, they came to Selma," said Lewis, referring to the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march in Alabama for voting rights in which he was beaten by white law officers. "But it seems like during the last two or three years, Hollywood has been talking the talk, but not walking the walk."
"Maybe there should be a deliberate effort to look at the roles that people of color are playing. You know, there's hundreds of thousands and millions of African-Americans who go to the movies, and Latinos and Asian-Americans and Native Americans.
"I think Hollywood can do much better," he said.