Many African American actors were outraged with the list of nominees for the 2016 Academy Awards. The past two years no African American has been nominated for a single Oscar.
This year, actors can celebrate speaking out and making a difference. African Americans take up a total of nine nominations at this years Oscar’s. While this still is a minority, the progress is undeniable.
The first person to take a stand on this situation was Jada Pinkett Smith. “At the Oscar’s … people of color are always welcomed to give out awards … even entertain,” Pinkett Smith said. “But we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments.”
It’s interesting to see how even the people we look up to still endure complications in their careers. Many of them disliked the boycott of the Oscars in 2016. While being interviewed in the Norton Show, Ice Cube explained that actors do their job for the fans. They don’t go into acting for the industry, it’s about the people who enjoyed the movie or not. Many actors made back and forth arguments but at the end of the day the Academy Awards nominated for a more diverse list.
This year the list of African American nominees for the 2017 Academy Awards are as followed:
Best Actor
Denzel Washington Fences
Best Actress in a leading role
Ruth Negga Loving
Best Actor in a Supporting role
Mahershala Ali Moonlight
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis Fences
Naomi Harris Moonlight
Octavia Spencer Hidden Figures
Best Cinematographer
Bradford Young Moonlight
Film Editing
Joi Mcmillon Moonlight
Best Documentary Feature
Ava Duvernay 13th\