How bad can it REALLY be?
Despite the overwhelming white majority in both nominators, creators, and actors in Hollywood and the statisitcs showing the huge gap in black cinema, you may be asking yourself "Is it really that bad? I see actors of color in like... everything I watch. Like Black Panther or The Help. You're just saying its a problem becuase you have to do this media project". Lack of representation is a major issue when it comes to depictions in the media.
The Oscars made their debut in 1929, but didnt see their first winner of color until 1939 (Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind). Additionally, McDaniel only won Best Supporting Actress. The first Best Actor/Actress did not happen until 1964, given to Sidney Poitier for his role in Lilies of the Field. Since then, only 32 people of color have won an Academy Award since the 1929 opening. The statistics are as follows: 5 latina women have been nominated for Best Actress, 1 person of Arab descent has won Best Actor (Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody) 2 Asian Actors have won for Best Actors/Actress (Ben Kingsley, Ghandi and Michelle Yeoh, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once) and 4 have won for Best Supporting Role (Miyoshi Umeki, Sayanora, Haing s. Ngor, The Killing Fields, and Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari ). Halle Berry is the first and only black woman to win Best Actress. She was awarded in 2002.
Many actors and actresses have called out the Oscars for their lack of diversity. Ricky Gervais famously called out the academy for their lack of diveristy and political emphasisis. He tweeted "“I can’t wait to hear all your inspirational speeches about equality, and it’s great that the 3 hours you’re here tonight is the only time your badly paid migrant house staff will get some time off to sleep this week”. Singer Janelle Monáe who preformed at the 2020 awards noted ""It's time to come alive, "because the Oscars is so white!" and most famously was the hastag created by April Reign called #OscarsSoWhite that called out the lack of diversity at the Academy and called for more opportunity and represenation in Hollywood. If so many celebrities know the Oscars are historically racist, why do they keep going? Can anything be done about the structure of the Academy?