The Oscars Overlook Blacks Again

Why does the Oscars fear giving credit where credit is due.

The first Academy Awards was held in 1929, and each year there afterward White actors and White actresses were rewarded in the film industry with gold-plated statuettes, aka Oscars during a star-studded ceremony.

No one knows for sure where the Oscars got its name or where the gold statuettes got their design. There have been several speculations. Cedric Gibbons, art director at movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer got credit for designing the statuette but not its name. Three theories claim the naming of the Oscar. Sidney Skolsky, a Hollywood journalist, claimed to name the Oscar, or Bette Davis claimed its name was derived after she proclaimed that the backside of the Oscar resembled her husband’s (Harmon Oscar Nelson) backside, and Margaret Herrick, a librarian, at the Academy who said the knight looked like her uncle Oscar.

Nevertheless, the Oscars are yet once again being called out for its misrepresentation of BIPOC. The outcry has been loud and clear and The Academy has heard it but has failed to apply full attention to the elephants in the room that are not going away.

2023, once again the Academy overlooks Black women. Namely, “The Woman King” by Viola Davis had much Oscar buzz throughout the year and was considered a front-runner but did not receive any Academy Award nominations. The Academy snubbed other greats like “Selma,” “One Night in Miami,” and “Mudbound” of late. The public outcry dates back to years of omission regarding talent and project that was worthy of their merits. Skin color seems to reign loud and clear.

The Academy has come under fire many times for omitting BIPOC and again this year is like a rerun of a bad tv sitcom. In 2015, the Academy Awards had a come to Jesus moment for a moment but apparently, it was only superficial when April Reign made #OscarsSoWhite a cultural touchstone. Thereafter came “Moonlight” and “Parasite” as they took the prize for best picture. While Black men have made some strides in their recognition by the Oscars but still have a long way to go, Black women are yet fighting for their recognition day in the sun.

Halle Berry has been the only Black woman to win lead actress in a film. Still, no Black woman has received a directing…

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