No hint of bitterness can be heard in the voice of American actor Louis Gossett Jr as he describes being arrested for being black.
American actor Louis Gossett Jr. Photo: Supplied
Gossett, 84, says police chained him to a tree for three hours in 1966 after he decided to go for a walk in Beverly Hills, a wealthy neighbourhood where blacks had just decades earlier been banned from living, unless they were employed as servants.
During his early days as an actor, Gossett says he was also arrested for driving a flash car that white police didn't expect a black man to be able to afford.
As the former Hooded Justice in the recent TV series Watchmen, his character helps explore racism in the United States' police force and community.
Gossett is also the founder of The Eracism Foundation, which educates young people and adults with the aim of removing racism from society.
He says the Covid-19 pandemic might just provide the push we need to stop, think, and unite to save the planet we all need to live on — regardless of race.
"Now, since we've been sequestered with this disease, it's time for us to get together, throw away all the resentments and all the angers and be one human being species, to clear up the oceans, to straighten out the weather, to make sure the food chain is clean," Gossett says.
"There's no answer left except one answer: one nation, one people, for the benefit of us all."
Travelling the world has shown him that class divisions exist in every country and the upper class worldwide wants to have it all on a daily basis.
"Now all of a sudden, when you look at the weather and it's declining weather, and the earthquakes and the volcanoes, you begin to see the picture that there's no human being on this planet that's in charge.
"It's time for our 100 percent undivided attention on its salvation.
"For us to do that properly, we need to get rid of all of the lines of demarcation between one race and one culture and another and together save this planet for all of us."
Gossett has starred in dozens of films and TV shows since he made his debut on Broadway at the age of 17.
He was the first black man to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman.
He has said racism contributed to his drug and alcohol addiction, which he battled through a stint in rehab in 2004.
Gossett plays the former Hooded Justice in Watchmen, a role he has received his eighth Emmy Award nomination for. Photo: Supplied
People from minority groups have had to slave for every victory to succeed in a white world, he says.
"We had to be twice as good and we had to be quiet and be unresentful and be very grateful and finally we worked twice as hard and we would get less money.
"By the time we get to retirement age, we're very tired and we haven't seen much of our family.
"You look up one day and you're past 50 or 60 years old and you realise you don't have as much gravy… as your white counterparts and you start getting a little tired and a little resentful and you think 'to hell with you, I'm gonna get stoned, I'm gonna get drunk'. And you find out that doesn't work either."
These days he's completely sober.
"If you're fortunate enough, you come to the realisation… your rise back to sanity has nothing to do with this planet, but some power that's above all of us.
"You take better care of yourself and you interpret the so-called 'enemy' as somebody who needs the light also."
Gossett says he's one of the lucky ones — he discovered a higher power, tries to do God's bidding, and feels the "sunshine of the spirit on a daily basis".
Despite Hollywood stardom and a career rubbing shoulders with the likes of Marilyn Monroe, his catchcry is "keep it simple".
He is currently content living on a five-acre property in Atlanta, with a lake lapping the boundary and wild deer grazing.
"You have to keep it simple. You have to resist that glamour… at least that's what I had to do.
"Been there, done that, did not enjoy myself."
He says he's got nothing to prove anymore and seeks nothing more complex than peace of mind.
"My family is happy, even my puppies are happy, I sleep deeply," he says.
These days, he sees his role as an elder communicating with the young.
"If you get one who turns the cellphone off and listens to you, then you've done your day."
And the kind of wisdom he might want to pass on?
"Keep it simple and enjoy the gift that God has given you and be of selfless service."
