Take your mind back to last February. Entering Oscars season, a fierce protest of the nominee list that featured no actors or writers of color blindsided the media sphere. Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith boldly proclaimed that they would be protesting the Oscars, urging others to follow suit. Creed, a movie starring Michael B. Jordan, had Sylvester Stallone get nominated for playing a virtually minimal role. Straight Outta Compton won best original screenplay, which was written by Caucasian writers. Chris Rock was even forced to politicize his monologue, creating a brand new one to reflected the climate surrounding the awards show.

This year, we’ve seen a definite change in the narrative. Six black actors were nominated, including the ever-legendary Denzel Washington and the trailblazing Viola Davis. Hidden Figures and Fences were shown recognition and Moonlight came from out of nowhere securing Oscar nods! Even more remarkable, I Am Not Your Negro and OJ: Made In America were nominated!

The Oscars hit and Black Hollywood completely took over! Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali took home the first award of the night for “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” with Viola Davis winning “Best Supporting Actress” for her role in Fences. Viola gave a stirring acceptance speech, giving a huge shout out to iconic playwright August Wilson and capturing the beauty of the art of acting. 

“People ask me all the time — what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost,”

The film Moonlight earned a Oscar for “Best Picture” in a amazingly awkward blunder that lifted a humongous weight off of Steve Harvey’s shoulders. Many felt that Fences or Hidden Figures should’ve gotten the award. Nevertheless Barry Jenkins, the screenplay writer and director of the film, brought home an award and a film with a majority black cast was shown major love.

Although the Academy Awards isn’t exactly the BET Awards, black performers and content creators were pretty well represented. We hope for better in the future but, as of now, we should celebrate the triumphs of these individuals and continue to support media that are positive, intriguing and innovative depictions of black life.