By David Jordan Jr
Angela Bassett has portrayed some of the most Iconic Women in History; Tina Turner,Coretta Scott King, Betty Shabazz, Rosa Parks and Katherine Jackson. No OSCARS. Aside from portraying these great women on film, Angela has played roles in other greatly written movies and delivered performances that were undoubtedly worthy of winning an Oscar. In “Waiting To Exhale” she delivered as “Bernadine” a woman dealing with a marriage that essentially fell apart, not only losing everything a wife would hope for in her husband, but also losing everything financially invested into the marriage; yet being the strong woman that she was, through every emotional state that she experienced she eventually rose above her circumstances to claim her life back and overcome the perceived setbacks.
This movie and her role as Bernadine in particular has proved to be a classic movie and staple in the lives of black women as it illustrates the adversity that black women tend to encounter in relationships/marriages; this movie came out 20 years ago, yet it still resonates with its message and Angela’s impact as Bernadine is ever so present.
In 1998’s “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” Bassett shows us how a 40 year old woman allows her life to be a teacher of the things that it can be about, not what others think it should be about. In the movie “Stella Payne” realizes that with her great career and productive life as a business woman and mother, love is essential to a rounded being; no matter the source. Stella falls in love with a man she meets on her trip that is 20 years younger than her (which today is celebrated with “Cougar” status) and an unintentional and unexpected relationship happened, yet it provided her the love she didn’t realize she missed and needed to balance her out. Today these types of relationships are common place but 17 years ago these type of relationships were met with mixed feelings, yet Basset delivered in the role a performance that not only was outstanding, but educating as well as she showed the different aspects and intricacies that an older woman/younger man relationship can bring forth. 
These are two movies out of the many she has acted in which have displayed her ability to perform in a way that resonates with all women as the subject of love and relationships are the X-factor in both movies.
Angela has portrayed the wife of Malcolm X twice on film; once in the 1995 movie “Panther” about the Black Panthers and in the 1992 movie “Malcolm X” directed by Spike Lee (another person that has NEVER won an Oscar for any of his great movies). Prior to Spike Lee’s production of “Malcolm X” on film there had not been anybody to bring the life of Dr. Betty Shabazz to a visualistic art form in the manner which Angela Bassett did. Bassett in playing the role did the same thing that Dr. Betty Shabazz did in her own life; make herself as important as her husband and standout on her own greatness. Being able to see the life of Dr. Betty Shabazz as a wife, mother and stabilizer for her husband Malcolm X allowed people to connect more with Dr. Shabazz and see her as the strong black woman she was in not only the X household, but in America and the fight for civil rights.
In the 2013 film “Betty & Coretta” she portrayed Coretta Scott King, the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Along with Mary J. Blige playing the role of Dr. Betty Shabazz, Bassett plays Coretta Scott King and embodies the strength and fighting spirit which Coretta lived with in the aftermath of the assassination of her husband in not only raising her kids, but in continuing the fight for equality for all. As she did as Betty Shabazz in “Malcolm X” she gave the character a resounding role of its own, magnifying the life of Coretta Scott King in a way that enabled people to see her life for what is what after the death of Dr. King. 
“The Jacksons: An American Dream” saw Angela Bassett play Katherine Jackson, the matriarch of the Jackson family and the mother of the greatest entertainer of all time, Michael Jackson. For so many years the only parent people really had any connection with was Joe Jackson and his relationship with the Jackson kids as a parent, a manager and as the driving force behind the most celebrated and iconic musical family ever. Not in the public eye as much as her husband Joe, Katherine and her role as a mother and family stabilizer is detailed greatly by Bassett’s portrayal of her in the 1992 movie. The ways in which she dealt with day to day life, Joe’s affairs, raising children essentially as a single mother because of Joe’s commitment to the development of the careers of the Jackson children, and her strength to be the same consistent woman despite the family’s rise were fully seen in the movie. As the only film that has went into detail about not only the life of Michael Jackson, but the entire Jackson family, Bassett owned the role of Katherine Jackson from beginning to end.
Anna Mae Bullock. Tina Turner. “What’s Love Go To Do With It.” If any role that Angela Bassett has played in ever so deserved an Oscar, the role of Tina Turner she played in the 1993 film production of “What’s Love Got To Do With It” is distinguishably the winner by a unanimous decision. The legendary performer’s life was on full display for the world to see; the good, the bad, the painful and the ugly. Her music career, her tumultuous relationship with Ike Turner and her reinvention as a woman were captured in its total essence by Angela’s performance.
When people think about Tina Turner, Angela Bassett comes to mind because of her great performance. Watching the movie, you felt every note hit, every bit of abuse and you felt the victories which Tina accumulated in her parting with Ike and the revamping of her career as a solo artist. The fact that the Academy felt that this performance was not award winning could indeed be one of the biggest snubs of all time (right along with Denzel Washington not winning an Oscar for his role as Malcolm X in “Malcolm X”).
Angela Bassett turned down the role which eventually was given to Halle Berry in the movie “Monster’s Ball” due to the extreme sexual content of some of the parts in the movie. Ironically enough, Halle Berry would win an Oscar for the role. It’s extremely sad that the fact that Angela’s dignity and self pride was essentially not rewarded but it’s a known fact that Hollywood doesn’t have a great appreciation for black roles that exemplify black people in a positive light. If a black person is not essentially playing a degradable role as a slave, lower citizen or type cast drug dealer, the efforts are not appreciated by the academy. It’s like Jadakiss said, “Why did Denzel have to be crooked before he took it” referencing the fact that Denzel Washington only won an Oscar after playing a crooked cop, dealing with drugs and many unfavorable situations in the 2001 movie “Training Day.”
Despite the snubs by The Academy, Angela Bassett IS an Oscar winner in the eyes of her fans and her contributions to television and film are greatly appreciated. Let’s hope that one day she gets the gold trophy that she earned years ago.
