For decades, the American film industry has ruled the international entertainment world. But despite the spotlight that engulfs the artistic dream world, the American movie industry finds itself in tacit agreement with a very relevant societal problem.
Hollywood allegedly has a history of downplaying the contributions of the already African-American communities. This allegation finds evidence in the nomination list of the most prestigious film awards in the world: The Oscars.
“You’d scan around the room, and everyone looked the same. But people didn’t get what was going on,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the former president of The Academy of the Oscars. Over the years, a few black actresses have not only challenged the norms but have even changed them.
About the Oscars
The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, honor artists for performance and technical achievements in the film industry.
Regarded as the most renowned and prestigious honor in the global entertainment industry, the Oscars has 24 categories of awards including international categories.
The awards are given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The winners are awarded a replica of the famous golden statue, officially known as the ‘Academy Award for Merit’.
The statue depicts an art-deco figure of a knight holding down a sword. The first Oscars were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 1929 with an audience of only 270 people.
AMPAS presented the first-ever trophy at a dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks.
The oldest international awards ceremony, the Oscars event is now televised live all over the world. It is also one of the four oldest major American annual awards along with the Emmys, the Grammys, and the Tony Awards.
Issue of Racial Diversity and Inclusion at the Oscars
As of 2019, in the 89 years of Oscars history, only 39 awards had been given to African American artists. Up until 2015, 92% of recognized film directors were men and 86% of top movies had Caucasians cast in leading roles.
The first big call-out on lack of racial diversity came in 1973 when a Native American actress named Sacheen Littlefeather refused an Oscar awarded to Marlon Brando.
On the behalf of the Godfather actor, Littlefeather made a political statement criticizing the stereotyping of Native Americans in movies and TV.
The obvious display of racial disparity inspired a finance lawyer named April Reign to create the hashtag ‘OscarsSoWhite.’ The trend took the social media by a whirlwind with people tweeting and retweeting Reign.
In 2020, after years of being called out by communities, the Academy has finally released the representation and inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility. But long before any guidelines were set in stone, these five women left their mark on the Oscars.
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first black actress to win an Oscar at the 12th Academy Awards. A daughter of two former slaves, McDaniel had to play the role of the head slave in the classic ‘Gone with the Wind.’
For her role, she was forced to accept the award in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Although her acceptance speech (which she was barely allowed to give) highlighted her community’s plight as she looked towards the future without disrespecting the present.
"I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything I may be able to do in the future," she said about the award.
Early Life
Born in Wichita, Kansas in 1893, McDaniel was the youngest of 13 children. Susan Holbert, her mother, was a gospel music singer, and her father, Henry McDaniel was sent to fight in the American Civil War with United States Colored Troops.
Hattie went to the Denver East High School when her family moved to Denver in 1900.
Career
Hattie became one of the first Black women to perform on an American radio show. She landed her first movie role in 1934 with the movie Judge Priest. In the following year, she secured the role of Mom Beck opposite the famous actress Shirley Temple.
This role got her the attention of many A-list movie directors and eventually led to her Oscar-winning role of ‘Mammy’ in ‘Gone with the Wind.
Popular Films
- Judge Priest
- The Little Colonel
- Show Boat
- Gone with the Wind
Whoopi Goldberg
Also known as Caryn Elaine Johnson, Whoopi is one among the 16 artists in the world who have won the EGOT which stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.
Early Life
Born in Manhattan in 1955, the actress grew up with a passion for theater and acting. In the 1970s, Whoopi moved to California and then settled in Berkeley where she joined an avant-garde theater troupe called the Blake Street Hawkeyes.
She also taught comedy and acting to aspiring artists and figures like Courtney Love were some of her students. In 1978, Goldberg witnessed a fatal plane accident in San Diego which resulted in severe PTSD and Aviophobia (fear of flying).
Career
In 1982, she first appeared on an ensemble feature by William Farley- Citizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away. The actresses created her first one-woman show The Spook Show featuring various character monologues.
It led to her being cast in the most important work of her life, the debut film ‘The Purple Show’. The film got 11 nominations at the Oscars including one for Whoopi as Best Actress. She went on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Ghost in 1990.
Popular Works
- The Colour Purple
- The Ghost
- The View
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (stage)
Halle Berry
Former Miss USA runner up and American actress, Halle Berry is the only black actress to have won the Academy Award as Best Actress so far. Also a Revlon spokesmodel, Berry was one of the highest-paid Hollywood divas of her time.
Early Life
Berry grew up in Oakwood, Ohio, and witnessed severed parental relationships due to her abusive father. In the 1980s, the actress worked in several beauty contests and went on to become Miss Teen All American and Miss Ohio USA.
In the 1986 Miss USA pageant, she expressed her interest in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. She even pursued a modeling career in New York but had rough beginnings.
Career
Halle made her Television debut with an ABC TV series ‘The Living Dolls’. It was her roles in The Jungle Fever and Boomerang that brought her to the limelight in the 1990s.
She then went on to deliver more successful hits like Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999). That made her the first woman of color to be nominated for the Oscars.
In 2002, she became the first African American woman to ever win the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in Monster’s Ball.
Popular Works
- Monster’s Ball
- X-Men
- Losing Isaiah
- Boomerang
Octavia Spencer
Spencer is the first black actress to have received two Oscar nominations consecutively. Also an author and producer, Octavia has worked on several small and big TV and film projects.
Octavia is also a recipient of a Golden Globe Award and 3 Guild Awards.
Early Life
Born in 1970, Octavia grew up with six other siblings in Alabama and was also diagnosed with dyslexia. The passionate actress graduated from Auburn University with minors in Journalism and Theater.
Interestingly, Octavia once also worked on the set of a film starring Whoopi Goldberg The Long Walk Home as an intern.
Career
After moving to LA in the late 1990s, Octavia made her debut A Time to Kill in the character of a nurse. However, media attention didn’t shift to Octavia until her role in Seven Pounds as Rosario Dawson's home care nurse.
The biggest achievement of her career remains her role in The Help which got her Best Actress Academy Award. The award ceremony was historical and Spencer received a standing ovation from the audience, moving her to tears.
Popular Works
- Divergent Series
- The Shape of Water
- The Help
Viola Davis
Recognized by Times as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012, Viola Davis is now synonymous with success in the American acting profession.
She is the first Black Actress to win ‘The Triple Crown’- a collective term for Academy, Emmy, and Tony Awards in acting.
Early Life
Like many other African American citizens, Davis lost her childhood to abject poverty and societal struggles. She credits her love for theater to her alma mater Central Falls High School.
In 1988, she graduated from Rhode Island College with a major in theater.
Career
Viola’s very first stage role was Denis in the stage adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It in 1992. She continued with several Broadway shows and minor film roles till the 2000s.
It was her role as a 35-year old mother fighting for the right to abort in a play called King Hedley II that won her critical recognition.
We still can’t get over the remarkable character of Annalise Keating in the show How to Get Away with Murder which won her an Emmy. It was in 2016 that Viola finally won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for a role in Fences.
Popular Works
- The Help
- How to Get Away with Murder
- Doubt
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Conclusion
Rome was not built in a day, and they had the world’s best engineers. So building an inclusive society out of the ruins of a slave economy is bound to take a few decades. It has been years since the first voice against racial disparity was raised at the Oscars.
Following those small acts of activism, women like McDaniel, Goldberg, Spencer, Berry, and Davis became the very first architects of an impartial environment. They continue to be inspirations for black actresses today.
