We all remember Viola Davis’s acceptance speech at last year’s Emmys, where she became the first black woman to win Best Actress in a Drama. It was an honest and inspiring moment—and we needed more of it. This year, that might just be what we get.
The 2016 Primetime Emmy nominations, which were announced today, include 21 non-white actors and actresses. Among them are Viola Davis (again) in How to Get Away with Murder for Best Actress in a Drama up against Taraji P. Henson for her role in Empire, Aziz Ansari in Master of None for Best Actor in a Comedy and Tracee Ellis Ross in black-ish for Best Actress in a Comedy. Fan favorite Kerry Washington is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her work in Confirmation.
Refinery 29 notes that not only does this number come to two more non-white nominees than last year’s Emmy’s, but it also represents 21 more non-white nominees than this year’s Academy Awards (take that, #OscarsSoWhite).
But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (responsible for the Academy Awards) also announced recent attempts to be more diverse. It seems that public probing and open debate have initiated a significant and progressive movement in Hollywood and we’re looking forward to seeing more minority representation both on- and off-screen in upcoming years.