By Lorrie Irby Jackson

In the final segment of his interview with Dallas South News, filmmaker, director, writer and activist Bill Duke discusses upcoming projects, two recent back-to-back honors, his endeavors to educate the youth and how the internet lends itself to endless opportunities for those wanting to carve a niche for themselves in Hollywood and beyond.

LORRIE IRBY JACKSON- Because you care so much about the quality of your work and passing that knowledge on to others, you were recently bestowed with a pair of awards. Would you mind expounding on those for us and what they mean to you?

I support a lot of young people in different ways: I have Boot Camp Hollywood, which teaches the youth acting techniques, the business aspect, and gives them the tools to navigate in both waters. What I’m most proud of  is Educating Young Minds,  an after-school program. It takes kids from homeless shelters who are dealing with school and family problems and it puts them in a more concentrated learning environment, and they’re not allowed to leave the classroom until they themselves can instruct the teacher with the same lessons that they’ve been taught.

And as a result, in many cases, they’re going from D’s and F’s to the heads of their classes with A’s and when they graduate, they get a scholarship and a computer, all  they have to do is bring 3 more kids into the program.

LIJ- Incredible—how long has EYM been in place?

BD- It’s been going on for 20 years, and I’m proud to be a part of it. About 2 weeks ago, this one kid, whom they’d given up on teaching to read at school—he couldn’t read, maybe he was dyslexic or whatever—At the last board meeting, this same kid stood up and read out loud. From two whole pages. It’s just….

LIJ- Humbling?

BD- Yes. You either reach them or you don’t. I used to throw money around at first to organization after organization, and there’s nothing wrong with giving money, but when they see you there, that you care enough to come down and listen, that’s a whole different situation. I thank God for it all and I appreciate their love and support, I really do.

LIJ- You’re beyond deserving, Mr. Duke. And since you’re a veteran in the field, what advice do you offer to newer actors and directors trying to break into the business?

BD- I think that in order for filmmakers today to really survive, they really have to take advantage of the internet technology and stop waiting to be discovered. We can no longer what for someone to discover us, those days are over and now it’s just a matter of selling yourself. There’s a thing now called the flip camera….have you heard of it at all?

LIJ- I think so.

BD- It costs $135 at Sears, you can make a feature film with it. You can shoot an hour of footage, you can plug it into your Mac, download it into Final Cut Pro and Pro tools, and you can make a movie! Some are living by an old paradigm of thought that says, ‘I have a nice body, a nice face, I can go to Hollywood, be discovered and be the next Halle Berry’ or whatever, and that will happen to a few, but fewer and fewer black people are on TV. There are even some kids who created a film using sound equipment and four cell phones, okay? Make your own opportunities, use the internet and benefit from it.

LIJ- That definitely makes sense. Where can we see you next in front of the camera?

BD-I just finished acting in a film with Keanu Reeves and James Caan entitled Henry’s Crime, which will be out before the end of the year.  Another film is called Dark Girls. It’s about the impact of the imposition of western civilization’s standards of beauty on other cultures, especially on African-American and dark-skinned black women.

LIJ- There’s a timely topic, considering the fact that that for the first time in history, a dark-skinned African-American woman is now the First Lady of the United States.

BD- It’s one of the most interesting projects I’ve ever worked on. We ask a young man on-camera, ‘what kind of women do you like dating?’ ‘Pretty ones.’ What do you mean by that?’ ‘Good skin and pretty hair.’ ‘Well, what’s good skin and pretty hair?’ ‘You know, lighter skin and flowing, long straight hair.’ ‘Would you ever date a dark-skinned black woman?’ ‘No.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because  they’re ugly.’ This is the verbatim exchange, I kid you not.

We interview a darker-skinned woman also. She’s beautiful, a dark, dark beautiful woman who’s 34-year-old and she just had a child. We ask her, ‘is there anything that you’ve done, in relation to your skin color, that you regret?’ She starts crying and says well, when I was in labor with my baby…(emotional pause)…I prayed to God that it would not be dark like me. Can you imagine?  ‘I prayed to God that it not be dark like me.’

LIJ- So, the baby’s skin tone was more important to her than her health or the baby’s at first? That just shows how deeply the self-image issue affects those who have been taught to dislike their dark skin. It’s heartbreaking.

BD- Strange isn’t it? That’s why I do what I do, the ‘edutainment.’ This is what can ultimately change things.

LIJ- Your generosity and conviction are inspiring Sir, thank you so much for speaking with me. Before we wrap it up, any last words for your followers and fans?

BD- I would say that I thank them from the bottom of my soul for their support all these years. And to all the people out there, if you keep God on your side, let nothing stop you from getting what you want and remain disciplined, this time in which you are living is one of the best times to be an entrepreneur. Create and own your own content right now, today—what are you waiting for? Stop waiting and do it now.

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