In a little over a week, the affectionately dubbed “who’s who” of Hollywood will gather to celebrate the 91st Academy Awards. In its 91 year history, the Academy has awarded the Oscar for Best Actress (lead or supporting role) to only 8 black women. (fun fact, only 8 black men have received said awards as well.) Not enough can be said about the joy one feels when they turn on the tv or settle down to watch a movie and they look up to see someone who looks like them on the screen. Anyone who knows me knows television and movies are the two things that bring me the most joy in life and for too long award season has felt like a never ending sea of white nominees. Just 3 years ago, April Reign started the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to shed a light on what black folks have know for decades, PoC actors are consistently overlooked when it comes to award season. After a major overhaul of Academy members last year, a small shift began to take place, but in 2019, we still having an alarming number of “firsts” being recognized.
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There is much work to be done when it comes to equal and proper representation of black folk in cinema. Though we have come a long way from Hattie McDaniel being forced to sit at a segregated table, set aside just for her and her guests, at the far end of a hotel restaurant with a “no-blacks” policy, it would be naive to say the race problem within Hollywood is anywhere near fixed. It’s also easy to say that all the weight and meaning behind having an Oscar is man-made. And that’s 100% true. People give these awards meaning and value and they don’t always go to the right person (considering we live in a world where Samuel L. Jackson does not have one, but Gwyneth Paltrow does) But to deny that there is something to be said about calling yourself an “Oscar-winning actress” or being recognized for all your hard work and dedication by your peers is it’s own form of naiveté.
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I find it pretty kismet that as I was preparing to post this, StrongBlackLead announced their new podcast venture #StrongBlackLegends, dedicated to giving black actors and actresses their figurative flowers for everything they have contributed to the culture. Something like that is long overdue. So I dedicate this #WCW to these eight extraordinary women. Each unique in their talent, yet bonded by their shared accomplishment. And Regina King, I look forward to adding your name to this list.
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