Awards season is upon us, and with each passing week, viewers are dazzled by one red carpet after another. But there’s more to the awards season than gowns, red carpets and acceptance speeches. For many, it’s about a country that can’t divest itself from racism, even in art.
Last year, editor and activist April Reign, known on Twitter as ReignOfApril, created the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite to illuminate the lack of diversity at the Academy Awards. Many tweeted their disdain for the nominating committee, who they felt had snubbed black creators time and time again. An infographic cited by CNN shows that from 1927- 2015, 98 percent of producers and writers and 88 percent of actors in the various branches of the Academy were white. So the Oscars, historically and up to the modern day, have indeed been “so white.”
But this year, it appears the tides are changing. Seven actors of color are nominated for awards, including Octavia Spencer, who is gunning for her second win. Also nominated is director Ava Duvernay, whose snub by the nominating committee in 2015 for her directorial role in “Selma” played a part in the #OscarsSoWhite narrative. With all of these nominations, it appears there’s no longer a need for #OscarsSoWhite, and on the day of the nominations, BET even tweeted, “Oscars are not so white this year. Look at all this #BlackExcellence recognized in the Oscar nominations.”
Despite the apparently common agreement that this year has improved, it is important that artists and writers of color continue to push for more access, even when things are looking up. Remember when people claimed we were living in a post-racial society after former President Obama got elected to office? Where did that get us?
The circumstances, though seemingly unrelated, have the same core message: Don’t get quiet when you’ve been given a small portion of access. Push for more. Continue to push for the great art that goes unrecognized, push for Hollywood to fund movies created by people of color, push for more diverse nominating committees and push to win.
#OscarsSoWhite was not just about access, though it is important. It was also about the recognition that the art and storytelling of people of color, especially black artists, are just as poignant and relatable as the art of white creatives. Art is the creative expression of the human experience.
It is not only important that these stories be told and nominated, but also that they be awarded. Not just for the sake of recognition, but because they are worthy. It is condescending to nominate people of color for awards as a means to pacify. So when the Oscars nominate and award actors and creators of color solely for their art, then there can be a new hashtag. Until then, #OscarsSoWhite it is.
