On Monday, nine actors of color were nominated for Academy Awards, breaking the previous record for diversity in those categories. The achievement follows the Academy's years of vigorous attempts to diversify its membership in the aftermath of all-white acting nominations for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies. Among this year's nominees are Chiwetel Ejiofor (born in London), who won last year for his role in 12 Years a Slave; Daniel Kaluuya (born in Chicago), who was on board the boat in Steve McQueen's film about slavery; and Mahershala Ali (born in California), who won for his work in Moonlight - all three actors have been nominated for their roles as musicians in Green Book.
The Oscars are held each year in Hollywood, California. It is an annual ceremony during which artists receive recognition for their artistic achievements of the previous year. The Oscars are administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). First held in 1929, it is the oldest national entertainment award group in the United States.
In addition to the winners mentioned above, other actors of color who have been nominated in recent years include Will Smith (born in New Jersey), who received a nomination for his role in Suicide Squad; and Denzel Washington (born in Ohio), who has won the Oscar twice for his performances in Malcolm X and Training Day.
For the first time in two years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented all 20 acting nominations to white performers on January 15, 2015, causing April Reign to invent the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. For Best Picture eligibility, the Oscars introduced a diversity criteria. Beginning with this year's awards, all five nominees must be released within a year of the award ceremony.
The Oscars are said to have no official policy regarding race. However, many have accused the academy of racial bias due to the fact that only white actors can be nominated for best actor and actress in a leading role while minorities can be nominated for supporting roles but never for leading ones. The lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations is particularly noticeable when you consider that in 2014, about one out of every four people in the United States was black or brown, yet only two actors of color were given nominations. In addition, several studies have shown that other factors such as money and popularity also play major roles in determining who will win an Oscar.
In 2009, African American producer Donna Gigliotti wrote an article for The Huffington Post arguing that the academy had become too focused on winning awards at the expense of promoting filmmaking diversity. Her comments sparked a larger conversation about racism in the film industry that led to some significant changes. Among other things, Gigliotti helped recruit more minority members to the academy and increase the number of women and directors represented on the board of governors.
Aside from the 14 black actors who have won Academy Awards (some of them have been nominated many times), the following black actors have been nominated as actors: Denzel Washington has gotten the most nominations, with a whopping six! Morgan Freeman is the runner-up with five nominations! And Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg, and Halle Berry all have four nods each.
In addition to these six nominees, Quincy Jones was also considered for an award in the category Producer of Motion Pictures.
Out of the eight people who were considered for this award, seven of them were white and one of them was black (Jones).
The only other black person who has been nominated for an Oscar is Esther Rolle who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for 1975's The Heat Is On. However, she lost to Anne Baxter for 1976's Billy Bathgate.
Overall, there have been about 7% of all Oscars that have gone to black performers or directors.
Only twenty-three African-American (or black) nominees for Best Actor have been made, with fourteen different actors receiving nods. Four actors (Poitier, Freeman, Washington, and Smith) have been nominated for the Academy Award twice (or more). They are also the only four black performers to have two or more films win the award.
The first Black American to be nominated for Best Actor was Sidney Poitier in 1963. He went on to win the award for Lilies of the Field. The other 23 nominations were made before Poitier's arrival on the scene.
Before becoming famous as a singer, Louis Armstrong appeared in several films. He was also nominated for Best Actor twice, for It's Me Again (1943) and Mamba's Daughters (1978).
Denzel Washington has been nominated for Best Actor five times since 1995. He has won the award once for Malcolm X. Before winning his first Oscar, he was also nominated three times without winning. His rival candidates were Will Smith for I Dreamed... and Elvis Presley for 1956's Beloved Country.
Chiwetel Ejiofor is a British actor who has been nominated for Best Actor twice, for 2012's 12 Years a Slave and 2015's Captain Phillips.
Here are the 5 performers who have received several Academy Awards for their performances:
Sixteen of the 19 nominated performances received Academy Award nominations or wins. Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mahershala Ali have the most nominations in this category, each with two. In this category, Louis Gossett Jr., Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, Mahershala Ali, and Daniel Kaluuya have all won. None of these actors is black.
The first Golden Globe awarded was given out in 1949-1950 to Fredric March for his role in A Letter from War. Other winners at the time included Charles Bickford for Best Performance by a Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, and Maureen O'Hara for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.
In 1951, the category was renamed Best Actor - Drama and then again in 1953 to Best Actor. In 1959, it was changed back to its current name.
Here are the six blacks who have been nominated for but have not won the award: Sidney Poitier (1969), Mpho Koaho (2015), Lupita Nyong'o (2014), Andy Serkis (2011), and Peter Ustinov (1977).
Black people have been allowed to vote in California since the abolition of slavery in the state in 1855. However, some states did not allow blacks to be represented in any way at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association ceremonies until later in the century.
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