Wilson Morales and Oprah Winfrey
Wilson Morales was writing about Black film and TV before it was trending. The veteran entertainment journalist has been shinning a light on black talent behind and in front of the screen for over two decades. Finally he’s launching the platform he knows the industry has always needed. BlackFilmAndTV.com not only champions the work of black actors, artist TV and filmmakers; it puts their work at the center. The new platform stresses that representation not only matters; it’s critical.
As the Co-President of the Black Film Critics Circle and a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA) Online Film Critics Society (OFCS), the NAACP Image Award Nomination Committee, and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA), Morales has always been an advocate for black voices and storytelling. He is also the recent recipient of a portion of filmmaker Ava DuVernay's $250,000 funding initiative called Array Grants to Support Arts Organizations and Journalists Centering People of Color and Women of All Kinds in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
“I’m elated to announce that I am launching my OWN website - blackfilmandtv.com,” announced Morales in a statement last week. “My mission [is to] continue to promote as many films, TV projects and theater productions with an emphasis on Black stories and Black talent.” After 20 years of serving as the editor of Blackfilm.com, Wilson Morales is excited to be launching a platform that he owns. The former editor knows all to well how important ownership is when telling black stories. Morales promises that the site will be in true “for us by us” style.
Morales has been around long enough to witness the changing tide of Hollywood’s occasional infatuation and more often dismissal of black stories, and hopes that the current shift toward more diversity and inclusion in TV and film is lasting. His hope is that sites like his can help to hold the industry accountable.
The former President and Vice-President of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Morales also commented, “All I can do is try to promote the black film experience. Whether it’s a short film or even TV, we have to support each other. There are stories to tell,” he says.
Wilson Morales
More About Wilson Morales
Known for his profundity of knowledge around the history of TV and film, the personable movie critic and writer can be seen, heard, and read on numerous TV shows and columns pontificating on the subject of film generally. As not only a critic, Morales has served in several roles in the industry serving as an executive producer and film critic for Audrey’s Whirl, a TV film show hosted by Audrey Bernard that featured reviews and commentary on films and the industry. On WBAI Radio (99.5 FM) in New York, Wilson co-produced film segments, with Mike Sargent, and was heard on REEL WORLD, which focused on the music in films as well as interviews and reviews. In 2003, Morales was cited as one of the Top 100 New Yorkers of the year by the local newspaper, the New York Resident, for his work in broadcast media and on the internet.
Until July of this year, Morales was the Online Editor/ journalist and film critic for Blackfilm.com for 20 years. Throughout his career, he’s attended many film festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca, the American Black Film Festival, Toronto, Urbanworld and New York. The Bronx native has appeared at times on Fox’s Good Day NY with Rosanna Scotto and Lori Stokes, as well as on SABC News (South African Broadcasting Corporation). He is also a voting member of Gold Derby, an awards prediction and entertainment news website.
Follow Morales and BlackFilmAndTv.com via Instagram.
