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HOLLYWOOD - Rapper/Actor Will Smith announced Thursday at
the opening of "Men in Black II" that as far as
he can tell, racism no longer exists in this country.
"It’s a great, great day for the United States,
and for black people in particular," Smith said "It
was a long hard struggle but it's clear to me by all the love
and adulation I'm receiving today that racism is finally dead."
Smith admitted the end of racism came just in time for the
July 4th opening of MIB II - just as media analysts predicted
when Smith and co-star Tommy Lee Jones signed on to do the
sequel.
"At first I thought racism ended after my Oscar-nominated
performance in Muhammad Ali, which then opened the door for
people like Sidney Poitier and Halle Berry to win their awards.
But I really wasn't sure until today, when Tommy Lee Jones
and Al Gore sat right next to me at the premiere and even
asked if I wanted to join them in a round of golf afterwards.
The news came as a great relief to millions of African Americans,
including Halle Berry who earned the Oscar this year for best
performance by a female. Although Berry feels indebted to
Smith, she maintains that racism really died back in
March after she received her Academy Award.
"When I earned the title of sexiest woman in America,
I realized that the memories of hundreds of years of slavery
and oppression were fading fast. Then, after I won the Oscar,
I knew I would no longer be the victim of the horrible injustice
and oppression that have followed me throughout my career.
It was a wonderful day for all of us, but especially me."
Berry then joined Colin Powell and Oprah Winfrey in a medley
of old slave minstrals as Smith teed off with his new white
friends.
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