In honor of Black History Month, Film Fad would like to honor historic moments for African Americans at the Oscars.
The Academy Awards are on their 87th year and a lot has changed over that period of time. Categories have been added and film culture has changed from when the Oscars were first given out. In honor of Black History Month, here are some of the most influential African American Oscar winners and nominees.
Hattie McDaniel – First African American Oscar Win
Hattie McDaniel’s win for Best Supporting Actress in “Gone with the Wind” was probably the biggest milestone in African American Oscar history. Not only was she the first African American woman to win an Oscar, she was the first African American person to win. On top of that, she was also the first African American to be nominated for an Oscar and to this day is the oldest African American actress (age 44) to win.
Dorothy Dandridge – First African American Best Actress Nominee
Fifteen years after Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar win came the beautiful Dorothy Dandridge. While Hattie was the first Oscar win for African Americans (Best Supporting Actress), Dorothy was the first African American Actress to be nominated for Best Actress. Although she didn’t win, her performance as Carmen in the film “Carmen Jones” was nothing less of iconic.
Dorothy Dandridge was an actress that was anchored by the time period she lived in. In today’s industry with her talent and her timeless, iconic beauty, she would have for sure been an A-List star.
Click below for the next page!
Sidney Poitier – First African American Best Actor
Sidney Poitier is a name that many cinephiles know. Outside of being the first Best Actor nomination and win at the Oscars, he’s been a growing film icon since then. Although many may recognize him for his role as Virgil Tibbs in the film “In the Heat of the Night,” this was not a film for which he received Oscar recognition.
Sidney Poitier received his first Best Actor nomination for “The Defiant Ones” in 1958 but didn’t win until 1963 for his role in “Lillies of the Field.” Since his win, he continued forth with his career and broke down racial barriers transcending all the way into the early 2000s with his work in the industry. He may have not been the first African American to win, but he was one of the most recognized due to the advancements in media technology and communications. Many would say that he paved the way for many African American actors’ careers.
Denzel Washington & Halle Berry – Best Actor and Best Actress
Both Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won their Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress in 2001. Despite being the first African American duo to take both wins, there were many more aspects of significance for their win.
Halle Berry was the first African American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress despite many others being nominated since 1954. To this day, she is the only African American Best Actress winner with there not being another winner since her 2001 win for “Monster’s Ball.”
This was not Denzel Washington’s first Oscar (he won Supporting Actor for “Glory” in 1989), but it was his first win for the film “Training Day.” Many (including myself) found this to be surprising that he would win for “Training Day” but not for his lead role in “Malcom X” or even as Rubin Carter in “The Hurricane.” Outside of that, he was the only African American actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor since Sidney Poitier in 1963.
Click below for the next page!
Cuba Gooding Jr. – Youngest Male African American Oscar Winner
Cuba Gooding Jr. was the youngest male actor to win an Oscar and probably the most excited too. Winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in “Jerry Maguire” seemed like it would be a launching point for his career but it all seemed to go downhill after that which was very disappointing. Some think that his acceptance speech was a little over the top but given his youthful energy and the role he won for, I hardly think it was over the top.
Despite having his career on a downhill slope after the Oscars, I think that Cuba Gooding Jr. was incredibly underutilized in Hollywood. He’s an amazing actor who just failed to recover after some bad career moves. But despite where he may be today, he is still an icon for African American History.
Morgan Freeman – Oldest African American Male to win an Oscar
Morgan Freeman became the oldest African American Male to win an Oscar when he won for his supporting role in “Million Dollar Baby.” He has been in the business for so long and had so many nominations, but despite being first nominated in 1989, he didn’t win until 2004.
When it comes to Morgan Freeman, I was truly shocked that the Academy took this long to give Morgan Freeman a win. His lead roles in “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Shawshank Redemption” were outstanding to say the least. When I think of his role of Redd in “The Shawshank Redemption” I see a milestone in film, not just for African Americans but for the industry as a whole. I will say that there was tough competition going up against Tom Hanks in “Philadelphia” but I do feel an iconic actor like Morgan Freeman should have got his Oscar win long before 2004.
Click below for the next page!
Isaac Hayes – First African American Best Original Song
Isaac Hayes is a music icon and actor. While many may recognize him for his comedic role as Chef on “South Park,” he has had a long career in Hollywood and was even an Oscar winner.
In 1971, Isaac Hayes took home the win for Best Original Song for the theme from the hit film “Shaft.” It was his first Oscar win for both himself and African Americans in the category of Best Original Song. To date the theme from “Shaft” should resonate with us all from Isaac Hayes iconic vocals to his strong beats.
Prince – First African American to win Best Original Score
Although the category was later retired, Prince was the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Original Score. The iconic 1980s film “Purple Rain” was a successful film but probably even more successful for its soundtrack.
The soundtrack for “Purple Rain” is continually on lists ranking the best soundtracks of all time so it’s no surprise that Prince was a shoe in for this category. In addition to this Oscar win, Prince can add the award to his collection with his other seven Grammy wins.
Click below for the next page!
Steve McQueen – Best Picture Winner
Steve McQueen was the most recent iconic African American Oscar winner. Although he didn’t win for Best Director he did win for Best Picture for “12 Years A Slave.” Although it does happen, it’s usually common for the director of the Best Picture to take Best Director as well.
While McQueen did not win Best Director, he was the producer for “12 Years A Slave” making him the first African American producer to take home an Oscar.
Other Notable African Americans Oscar Winners/Nominees
Jamie Foxx – Best Actor (Ray)
Forest Whitaker – Best Actor (Last King of Scotland)
Louis Gossett, Jr. – Best Supporting Actor (An Officer and a Gentleman)
Whoopi Goldberg – Best Supporting Actress (Ghost)
Jennifer Hudson – Best Supporting Actress (Dreamgirls)
Mo’Nique – Best Supporting Actress (Precious)
Octavia Spencer – Best Supporting Actress (The Help)
Lupita Nyong’o – Best Supporting Actress (12 Years A Slave)
T. J. Martin – Best Documentary (Undefeated)
Roger Ross Williams – Best Documentary Short (Music by Prudence)
John Ridley – Best Writing Adapted Screenplay (12 Years A Slave)
While the African American presence at the Academy Awards has definitely grown, the winners list still has quite the gap. One thing that we have learned over the years is that true talent exists outside of race, color, or sex. Maybe one day we can all judge a person’s talent by talent alone.