Rare Topic of Conversation

Americans, by and large, are loathe to talk about race and socio-economic circumstances. It rarely comes up in media posts, especially when authors could instead talk about individual talent, distinguishing characteristics, or work ethic. So why is it that whenever a non-white person wins an award, race and socioeconomic explanations are all that authors think of?

The article linked is itself a fruitful discussion of our political context while viewing The Help. But the phrase, "we can’t avoid recognition of the obvious socio-political dimensions attached to [Octavia Spencer's] win," should give us pause. After all, we avoid recognition of the obviou socio-political dimensions attached to every white actor's oscar nomination and win. Race is only invisible to American society when we're talking about white people.